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squidproquoclarice · 4 years ago

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For the @rdr-secret-santa exchange this year, I got to write for @tiredcowpoke. The request I wrote was “Molly/Mary-Beth, possibly a post-game au thing related to their writing?” Happy Holidays, Cowpoke, and I hope you enjoy!

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December 1919

St. Denis, Lemoyne

It had been a solemn few years for a poetess, for the world looked upon things with a grim eye, and who could blame them? Between the war and the Spanish flu, that was bad enough. Even a bloody flood of molasses of all things taking lives in a strange and even absurd way. She needed a change from Boston, feeling that urge come over her.

Just as she’d needed a change so long ago and left Dublin for Cousin Brian’s horse farm in California. Back in another life, back when she’d then left Cousin Brian’s horse farm after a few months based on the dark good looks and smooth charms of Mister Aiden O’Malley, or so he’d called himself. Back when she’d been such a fool and become an outlaw’s woman--outlaw’s whore--, something within her liked to hiss still. That part was the one that had been raised to love and fear her father, God the Father, and Father O’Connell alike, a paternal trinity that seemed to have no room for any woman once she wasn’t a virgin.

Some parts of Molly O’Shea clung beneath the skin of Margaret McCarthy nonetheless, and she’d long since had to accept that. Though she listened to them less and less as the years rolled on in their relentless pace. Early on had been difficult. She couldn’t go back to Cousin Brian, couldn’t go back to her father by any means, couldn’t bear to face their condemnation of her shame. So she had gone to Boston, after leaving Dutch and his band of grubby fools behind, a place she had never belonged with a man who used and discarded women. For a woman raised to be an ornament to a man, a true lady, it had been a struggle. But she found eventually that her pen was enough to keep her, rather than the need of a man for it. Forged on into a strange new world where she alone was mistress of her fate, and found it to her liking.

Now here she was in St. Denis for the first time in twenty years, and certainly she was older and wiser and a trifle stouter than the lass of twenty-six who’d never genuinely seen these streets, drinking as much as she had for the heartbreak of it all. It pleased her in some ways to truly experience the city for the first time, finding the old, cultured, European feel of it much to her liking, as opposed to the brashness of Boston that had never quite fit her, no matter how many Irish lived there.

No sooner had she arrived, not even fully unpacking her trunks at the opulent Castille House hotel, built seven years before, than an invitation came from the Krewe of Minerva, whom she was given to understand, had something to do with the Carnival season of Mardi Gras here in St. Denis, and the misspelling of “crew” was quite deliberate, but mostly that it consisted of some of the most prominent women in St. Denis, the wives and daughters and sisters of the powerful, and a handful of independent women as well.

The invitation, printed on heavy card stock, gilt decoration and with neat, flowing copperplate script, asked her to attend an evening celebrating St. Denis’ most prominent female literary luminaries. Oh, the glory of it, to be among people who appreciated such little social niceties as a proper invitation. She thought she understood what they were about--another woman writer had arrived in their midst, and they wished to draw her into their circle. Something in her was giddy about it, even at her age, so delighted to be included, welcomed, in such a way. It hadn’t always been the case.

It was no hardship to attend either given that the reception was in the ballroom of the Castille. So here she was, dressed in a flattering green gown that highlighted her eyes, here to meet the best and brightest lights of St. Denis’ women. Hearing snippets of their chatter as she passed, introducing herself or being introduced one by one, recognizing a few of them from their prominence in the papers.

Henrietta Wicklow, the journalist and ardent suffragette who’d marched for the vote right alongside her deceased mother Dorothy, “Next year we ladies shall all be voting for president--”

A loud voice from a group of ladies clearly enjoying their champagne, a young woman declaring with a glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other, “Enjoy it now, gals, we’ve only a month until this government foolishness of abolishing liquor begins--”

Philomena Castille, wife of Claude Castille, owner of the very hotel they were now in, “--think that the Mardi Gras ball should reflect the theme of a new dawn for a new decade after the frightful few years we’ve had”, and Mrs. Castille then took charge of her to make further introductions with the brisk efficiency of a talented hostess.

Mary Barrett, wife of one of the men involved in St. Denis’ most prominent bookstore, and apparently also the local literary critic Martin Gillis, hiding behind a man’s name. Something about the woman, small, dark, and neat, with a striking small beauty spot on her right cheek, looked oddly familiar. But Margaret couldn’t quite place her. Perhaps they’d met at some literary event before? “Very pleased to meet you, Miss McCarthy, your book of poems is quite memorable.” From her, it somehow didn’t sound like a platitude.

Now another person approached, and Mrs. Castile said, “Oh, and here’s another of our ladies with a talented pen. We call her by her real name in the bosom of friends here, so here’s Miss Mary-Beth Landry. Though,” she winked one sapphire-blue eye, “you would know her better by her nom de plume, Leslie Dupont. Miss Landry, this is Margaret McCarthy, the poetess. She’s moving down from Boston to grace our city.”

She’d heard of Leslie Dupont, a semi-scandalous writer of semi-scandalous books. She had read several and rather enjoyed them, though some part of her blushed to admit it. But there was the part of her that would always adore romance and adventure. Though she hadn’t touched a great deal of Leslie Dupont’s books, including her most popular novel, “Sunset Over The Red Sage”, because those ones were about outlaws, highwaymen, bandits, and pirates. If there was one thing she had no wish to read in this life, it was a romance involving that sort of man. She’d been hurt enough by her own fantasies of that life without needing to read another woman’s ignorant rose-tinted version of it.

Oh, but she wasn’t so ignorant at all, because as Mary-Beth Landry turned, it had been twenty years, but Margaret still recognized her. Not Landry at all, oh no, but Gaskill. Those tumbledown golden brown curls, the soft blue-grey eyes, the liberal sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks and nose that all still gave her something of an appealing girlishness even though she must have passed forty herself, and the lines beside her eyes and mouth said it as much as the ones Margaret saw in the mirror.

Her first instinct was the desire to turn and run before Mary-Beth could say her name, her old name, and expose Margaret in front of all these people as every bit as much an imposter as her. The second was a flare of anger because even all these years later, she could remember being forced to endure watching Dutch sniffing around her, flirting with her shamelessly, and thinking to herself with raging despairing humiliation, That cheap little tramp, what does she have that I don’t, aside from a few more years of youth? The third was to calm herself, because that was all old history and Dutch Van Der Linde wasn’t worth her concern, and frankly, she had drunk a glass of very fine whiskey eight years ago in pleasure at hearing the government’s Bureau of Investigation had finally caught up with him. Bastard. I hope the Devil himself has you as you deserve.

Mary-Beth’s eyes went wide and startled, and she blurted, “Molly!”

Margaret might have slapped her, but she held herself together. “My, it’s been so long since anybody called me that.”

“You two know each other?” Mrs. Castille said, looking at the two of them with surprise, but at least no suspicion.

“Oh, it was so very long ago,” Mary-Beth said, recovering rapidly. “I’m ashamed to say that I...I broke her cousin’s heart.”

“You’ve broken quite a few hearts, my dear,” Mrs. Castille said cheerfully. Yes, Margaret had heard about Leslie Dupont’s fast ways and string of romances never quite come to fruition. Was there such a thing as a rakess?

Mary-Beth’s gaze stayed on hers, and she gave Margaret a shy, apologetic smile. Surprisingly, she felt her pulse suddenly jump at the gesture, and it didn’t feel like alarm or anger. “I do hope you can forgive me, M--Margaret.”

“Oh, long since forgotten,” Margaret assured her, glad she’d jumped quickly to cover her gaffe, and happy to follow her lead with that story. “The fellow wasn’t worth the bother in the end, now was he? We both said good riddance to him.”

“I’ll let you two catch up,” Mrs. Castille said, gesturing towards the balcony. “The night air is quite fine.”

Given two weeks before she’d been in a miserable Boston winter, the weather here made for a pleasant change, she had to admit. Knowing there was no escaping it, she followed Mary-Beth onto the balcony, some part of her very reluctant to have this conversation, but another part strangely intrigued by what the woman had become. Curse her eternal romantic streak, but of course moving from dreamy guttersnipe and pickpocket to a successful authoress made for quite the tale.

Mary-Beth spoke first, keeping her voice low. “We all wondered what had happened to you. You just--vanished.”

“There was nothing to stay for,” she said, managing to keep the bitterness from her tone. “I was never quite one of you, now was I?” So she had simply not followed them when they cleared out from Shady Belle in an almighty hurry, saying the bank robbery had gone terribly wrong. She’d gone to St. Denis and drunk herself silly for nearly a month, and then she’d sobered enough to tell herself she would take the first train in the station, wherever it was bound, which brought her back to Valentine. Of course she would never stay there. The first train into the Valentine station was bound for Omaha. And she kept doing that until chance brought her to Boston.

“Oh, Molly--”

“Margaret,” she corrected with all the fierce, frosty bite of those Boston winters she’d left behind her. “Molly” was only for her intimate friends, and Mary-Beth Landry née Gaskill was and had been nothing of the sort. She relented somewhat, and asked, “What happened to them, if you know?” She might not have belonged to them, they had made that quite clear, but that didn’t mean she wished them ill, let alone shot to pieces by Pinkertons. She’d read about the big gunslingers of the gang dying in the papers over the years, of course, but all the little people like her, like Mary-Beth, had escaped notice.

“We got lucky. Nobody else died that year after Lenny and Hosea,” Mary-Beth answered. “I left a couple of weeks before the end of it all, Pearson and me together, but I’ve run into enough of them in the years since here and there.”

“Arthur died, though?” Margaret said in confusion. He clearly had been killed. The papers had blared it everywhere in triumph, the Pinkertons bagging one more significant quarry even if Dutch himself slipped through their fingers.

If there had been anyone else in the gang she probably should have let herself like and consider halfway to a friend, it might well have been Arthur. There was an awkward gentlemanliness and kindness towards her and all the women beneath that drawling uncouthness, as if he tried to keep the best of himself well hidden. Fetching her that mirror only because she mentioned wanting one? That was the sort of man Arthur Morgan had been, even if she’d been too much of a snob to see it at the time, far more swayed by Dutch’s smooth manners and darkly seductive charisma, the veneer of the proper gentleman of the sort she prized. She couldn’t say she had mourned Arthur at the time, but she had thought about him now and again since. He seemed like a better man than Dutch had let him be, and that felt like a shame.

Mary-Beth leaned closer, and she gave a knowing cat’s smile. “The reports of his death may have been exaggerated. The Pinkertons left him for dead, but it seems that wasn’t quite the case.”

“No!” Delicious gossip, that, even if she could never tell another soul. “Then--what? Who?”

“Sadie’s the one who got him out alive. They stayed together, ended up married, and they’re up in Canada with their children. We don’t write much, just the occasional Christmas card, but it sounds as though they’re well last I heard.”

Margaret had to shake her head, trying to not laugh. Arthur Morgan had married Sadie Adler? That brash, angry half-feral woman strolling around in her pants and swearing a blue streak and toting a rifle, who had made it clear she’d as soon kill a man if he looked at her wrong? But that was old Molly O’Shea talking, a posh lady looking down her nose at Sadie as a coarse farm wife who prided herself on being unnaturally mannish besides. Well, well. Hidden depths to her, I suppose. Or perhaps she changed herself to something finer when it was all said and done. She had done so herself. It seemed Mary-Beth had, at least in some ways.

“Some of the rest are up there in Canada as well. Charles, Karen, Abigail, and such. Pearson’s out in Rhodes, and the Reverend in New York, last I heard.” Abigail, still chasing the feckless boy-man father of her child when the boy was growing old enough to read. Karen, a loudmouthed, chubby creature who fancied herself a hellraiser, had even punched Margaret in the face once. Though I suppose deserved it, mocking her as I did. Saying Sean MacGuire was a brainless, reckless fool and I knew hundreds more Irishmen just like him. Certainly we both turned too much to the drink for the love of men who could never love us as we needed. Abigail never did that at least, though John wasn’t nearly worthy of her that I saw, but the heart wants what it wants. I made quite a solid proof of that lunacy. “Susan, Miss Grimshaw, she stayed around here for a bit, but she always was restless. She’s out in San Francisco now, moved there a year after the earthquake.” Margaret absorbed that, remembering the older woman and her need to feel relevant by bossing people around. The two of them had quite the mutual disdain, Dutch’s young lover versus his older former flame. Whereas back then she’d rolled her eyes at the jealous old biddy who clearly had it in for Dutch choosing another woman, now she was about the age Susan Grimshaw had been then. She could look on it with some sympathy--how much it had hurt to see Dutch already abandoning her, and Susan’s loyalty and love for Dutch had been there even so many years later. How hard must that have been? How hard must it have been to be an unmarried woman approaching fifty, who most men now didn’t value at all? Margaret had escaped that snare, but Dutch had kept Susan dependent on him all that time. Perhaps that was the softening of years, and wisdom, that she could see such things now.

Mary-Beth continued, “Tilly was actually here until earlier this year. She and her husband Henri headed north to Chicago. Better opportunities there for them there, though. I do miss her dreadfully. We used to try and meet every other Thursday at least, sometimes with the children. I’d spoil them with candy and books and toys, and Tilly would always just smile at it. Five children under twelve, quite the handful, but oh, how wonderful they all are. I wonder if baby Amelie will even remember me. She’s only two and a half now.” She wore a wistful, faded, sad little smile at recounting those memories.

Hearing Mary-Beth talk about all the women that had been with Dutch’s people then, it eased something in her to hear they all seemed to have done well and lived happy lives. She’d long since had to face the idea that her youthful dismissal of all of them as a pack of cheap, coarse unmannered creatures not worthy of her time, as different from her bearing and breeding as chalk and cheese, had been wrong. Learned that the line between being one of those women in the gutter and safely embroidering samplers in a graceful parlor was painfully razor thin. Then Mary-Beth shrugged in a sharp, almost dismissive way, and there was something striving too hard for chipper casualness in her tone when she said, “So now it’s only little old me left here in St. Denis.” “And me now, I suppose.” She said it before she could think better of it, laying claim to something she hadn’t cared about in so long, and hadn’t even felt a part of when she was in the thick of it. And yet.

She’d heard that loneliness in Mary-Beth’s voice, and recognized with a startle that she’d felt that same seemingly indefinable loneliness all too often, for all she hadn’t been around anyone else who ran with Dutch’s gang, let alone thought she’d wanted them there.

There was a part of her she couldn’t ever truly talk about, both from the shame of a foolish romance that would have labeled her as firmly ruined, and from the fear of being known as someone who’d been involved with all that unsavory outlaw business. To be with one person she didn’t have to fearfully conceal that behind an ironbound mask, and recognizing the sheer bloody effort it had been these past twenty years to do it, felt like an agonizing relief that she had never known she wanted. Like taking her corset off at the end of the day, laced stern and tight now against the ever-encroaching flesh of middle age, and breathing.

Mary-Beth looked at her, a gentle smile curving her lips. “And you now.” She hesitated, and then said almost shyly, “I did read ‘Odes to a Far Country’, you know. Though my favorite poem in it is ‘The Butterfly and the Phoenix’.”

“Oh!” She felt herself blushing, pleased but surprised. “That’s unusual. Nobody ever likes that one best.” One of her earliest published poems, and she looked back on it now as a somewhat mawkish, clumsy rumination from a woman facing an uncertain future, writing about metamorphosis, slumber, and fire from the ashes. The symbolism in it felt treacly and heavy-handed to her now. “It’s...very untidy.”

“Well, I like it.” Mary-Beth spread her hands and shrugged. “It’s honest. It’s a very messy thing to remake yourself, isn’t it?”

She thought she understood now, with a flash of insight. Mary-Beth had always seemed dreamy, even a bit dull at her insistence on painting everything in a romantic light, as if she simply couldn’t see the awful reality they lived in. How much of that was true then and how much was an act, Margaret couldn’t say, given she wouldn’t give herself much credit for being terribly perceptive in those days. But she had the suspicion Leslie Dupont now saw things clearer, and still chose to write those silly romances only because they brought some joy to the world. Perhaps she wrote about outlaws and pirates only to purge her own demons in some way.

She felt that flicker in her chest again, confessing, “I liked ‘Ribbons of Scarlet’ best.” That one was about a French noblewoman bound for the guillotine, and her love for the humble gardener who’d been her childhood friend. Who then, of course, helped break her out of the Bastille itself, and they fled together, escaped to freedom in America.

“Nobody ever likes that one best,” Mary-Beth said, imitating Margaret’s Dublin accent dreadfully, turning it into some God-forsaken stage Irish and a poor one at that, and Margaret found herself smiling helplessly at it. “People prefer their French Revolution stories with tragic and doomed endings, I’ve found.”

She sighed, looking out into the electric lamp-lit city at night, like a thousand fireflies glowing, fighting back the darkness. “I think we’ve had rather enough of tragic and doomed endings.”

They’d been young enough then, and foolish, and unable to see things clearly, let alone each other. She’d been twenty-six, and Mary-Beth, what, twenty-one perhaps? Now here they were, two middle-aged women brought together again in St. Denis by fate and literature both, and looking at the other woman, Margaret thought she felt something about Mary-Beth that just fit in some peculiar, easy way. “I think we have,” Mary-Beth answered softly. “I only wrote one. My first book. And I only implied it that way, and then, well, I undid it in the sequel anyhow when I thought better of it.” She turned to look at Margaret. “But here we are talking away and you’ve just gotten here to the gathering, and I’m keeping you all to myself.”

“I don’t mind, not at all,” she blurted, before she could help herself, and found herself blushing hotly again, and was surprised to see an answering blush in Mary-Beth’s cheeks. At their age, no less, blushing like two schoolgirls in braids! “But I probably should make the rounds, of course. See and be seen.”

“Of course.” Mary-Beth smiled at her. “Do you have plans for Christmas? I certainly don’t, not aside from the usual round of parties, but you know what I mean. Real plans for Christmas Day, not social ones. If not, you’d be welcome to come to my home, if you’d like.” She reached out to touch Margaret’s arm gently, and oh, how glad she was the fashion was no longer for elbow-length gloves along with an evening gown, because the touch of those fingers on her bare arm sent a frisson of longing through her like she hadn’t felt in years. She’d taken some to her bed discreetly when the mood struck, pleasant enough interludes, but there had never been anything of her heart in it. This, oh, this? This had destroyed her once and it could destroy her again, but how she suddenly wanted, something that wasn’t the overwhelming possession she had craved from Dutch, but something finer, brighter, something like kindred souls finding each other after so long.

She didn’t have a mean bone in her body then, and I very much doubt she does now. She’s not Dutch. Telling herself that, feeling her heart hesitantly peek open only a crack, it was enough for now. She looked up into Mary-Beth’s eyes, and smiled back. “I’d like that very much.”

A/N: Since it was a “Molly lives!” AU already, I decided to just go full “The gang members who died in Chapters 5 and 6 actually live!” AU, since neither Molly nor Susan are tough to spare their sad Beaver Hollow fates, Karen’s is ambiguous, and I’ve definitely explored the idea that there was a clear chance for Arthur if Sadie came back for him. Especially the chance for Molly to reflect a bit on Susan and Karen with greater age and wisdom and see the similarities felt too good to pass up.

#molly o'shea #mary beth gaskill #rdr2 #rdr secret santa 2020 #mollybeth #tiredcowpoke #getting to write two 40something bi literary women for the holidays was lovely #writing #holiday exchange

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wowweeharrystyles · 5 years ago

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Part 11 | Fringe & Change | 7.2k words

Sequins & Zippers’ Summary: An internship with Harry Lambert transformed into a job of a lifetime - Aurora Del Gatto finds herself touring the world with the one & only Harry Styles as his ‘Head of Wardrobe.’ Aurora is nothing but nerves & excitement as she packs her bags & almost 100 custom designer suits that belong to an unbelievably kind rockstar. She never thought she’d fall in love on top of it all.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Masterlist

a/n: 6 weeks later & we’re finally back !!!! thank you all for your patience & thanks to gwen for listening to me complain about writers block week after week. I’m very excited to get back to sharing this story with y’all.

as always, reblogging helps a ton & comments & feedback are ALWAYS WELCOME !!!!

Warnings: brief mentions of anxiety & panic attacks

Here’s part 11 !

Aurora’s standing next to Harry, a drink in her hand when Niall launches into “Drag Me Down.” She flashes Harry the biggest grin before singing along, just as she has with every song. Harry smiles back at her, she doesn’t see it but he doesn’t care. He finds himself singing along to a song he used to sing night after night on stage. It’s strange to watch Niall sing his own version and Harry figures Niall felt the same when he sang his own arrangement of their old tunes back in Dublin. Harry looks back to Aurora. She can feel his eyes on her but waits for the song to end before turning to him.

Her fingers are delicate and barely touch Harry’s neck as she reaches up to him. Her lips brush against his ear before she speaks. “I miss your bit at the end,” Aurora shares and Harry chuckles lowly. She doesn’t pull away though and Harry takes the opportunity to pull her into him with an arm around her waist. His fingers find where the hem of Aurora’s shirt meets the top of her jeans. As Aurora presses her lips to the warm skin of Harry’s neck she can feel his calloused fingertips press into her skin.

“Havin’ fun, love?” Harry assures. Aurora doesn’t have to verbally respond because the smile on her face after pressing another lingering kiss to the base of his neck says it all.

Aurora feels warm and it’s not just because of the hot humid air of Buenos Aires. It’s the heat that's radiating from where Harry’s hand is pressed against her skin. The heat that flushes the tops of her cheeks from the cheap alcohol. The heat in her jaw because she hasn't stopped smiling for the better part of 2 hours. She gets to see Harry perform live almost daily, she gets that concert feeling every night, but to share it with him is something different. To share this experience in the traditional way for the first time is another one of those moments she’ll look back on forever.

Many things are similar to the aftermath of Harry’s shows - showing their passes to the security guard at the gate near the stage, the ringing in Aurora’s ears from the screams, the scratchy feeling in her throat from singing (badly, at that), the buzzing feeling that lingers in her body from the music. The difference is the feeling of Harry’s hand in hers as they slide backstage to find Niall.

Aurora also notices the striking difference between Niall’s backstage post show and Harry’s. Niall and Harry may have done this together years ago, running off stage together and onto a crammed tour bus but they’ve both found their own way on their own. It's a different kind of loud and chaotic after Niall’s show. Niall’s band is following him to a large green room that is equally as rowdy as a group of guys headed into a party. They’re high off the show and honestly so are Aurora and Harry.

“So how’d ya enjoy the show?” Niall asks, his Irish accent thick, before taking a chug of water.

“Rory enjoyed it the most I think. Belted out every single word,” Harry answers as he tucks Aurora into his side. Aurora crosses her arms in front of her in lieu of wrapping one around his waist.

Niall’s dropped to the couch, his chest still heaving from the performance.

“Hey,” Aurora whines as Harry and Niall laugh together. “You didn’t miss too many lyrics yourself, Har,” she playfully bites back.

“Know all the words to my album, Haz? That’s what I like to hear.”

“Don’t trust a thing she says,” Harry jokes before kissing the top of Aurora’s head. Niall’s laughter echoes off the walls.

“Hey, I’d be a bit nicer to Aurora. I like her quite a bit. Don’t want you to chase her away so soon,” Niall advises with a wink to Harry.

“Unfortunately, I think it’d take a lot more than that to chase me away,” Aurora tells Niall. “Anyways, who else is gonna get him dressed?” Niall’s laughing again and his band joins in, Aurora as well. Harry rolls his eyes trying to subside his own laugh but eventually joins in.

Aurora relaxes into one of the leather covered chairs and Harry sits on the wide arm rest when Niall asks them if they want to stay for a bit and have beer or 2. Aurora leans forward to rest her elbows on Harry’s knees, her chest falling against his thigh. Harry presses the cold bottle of beer to the back of Aurora’s bare neck making her jump from the sudden change in temperature. He switches the bottle to the opposite and lightly digs his fingers into the muscles in Aurora's shoulders. Bending down he kisses her temple before whispering, “We can go whenever you want,” softly, reassuringly.

Aurora’s extent of her anxiety had been brought up in conversation a few nights ago, Harry wanting to be able to help or at least do what he can to subside it if possible. Nobody had ever asked her how they could help or understood enough to want to know more. Her parents tried to understand, they really did, but something to do with the generational gap made it hard for them to really get it, to believe it even. So when Harry asked about it out of nowhere Aurora was shocked.

She explained what it's like in different ways and how it comes about. The social anxiety aspect of new people and new places is what triggered Harry’s question just now. She told him about how she’ll feel trapped like she can’t go anywhere and she doesn’t want to create a scene, doesn’t want to offend anyone by leaving. She talked about the anxiety she had from the thought of a new hotel room and new arena every day before she left New York. But she was pleasantly surprised when it felt okay, that the faces became familiar and even though they were new arena’s daily, the pink flowers and TPWK signs became comforting. Harry’s heart swelled when Aurora shared the last bit. After she answered all his questions and told him about how she copes and what he can do that would make it easier, better even, Aurora thanked him. She thanked him over and over again when she crawled into his lap. She thanked him as she pulled off his shirt and kissed the swallow tattoos on his chest. She thanked him when she sank down on him. She shared everything that night, her mind, her body, all of it. She had never felt so understood, so safe.

Harry can tell Aurora’s in another world, squeezing her shoulder, he says her name softly. She looks up to him, a hint of worry in his eyes. She smiles, the memory of nights prior still floating in her head. The worry washes away when Aurora takes his hand that’s on her shoulder and presses a kiss to the palm of it.

“I’m good right now,” she reassures him. “Thanks for asking.”

“What're you thinking ‘bout?”

“I’ll tell ya later.”

She does tell him later, after they’ve said their goodbyes to Niall, after the car ride back to the hotel, after they get into Harry’s hotel room. She tells him between kisses. She tells him how nobody has ever said “we can go whenever you want” in any way and meant it. She tells him how she was thinking about how she thanked him and how she couldn't stop thinking about it.

It doesn’t take them long to rid each other of their clothes. It was early morning by the time they fell asleep, their bodies sticky with sweat but too tired to shower now.

Morning comes too fast and Harry groans into the back of Aurora’s neck when the alarm goes off. He turns away from her, his arm sliding from her waist to call room service. Aurora only pays enough attention to make sure he orders plenty of coffee and then lets herself succumb to sleep again.

She wakes up only a little bit later when there’s a knock on the door. Harry’s curls hang heavy from his shower and Aurora can’t help but giggle as he tries to blow some of the curls from his forehead as he sets her coffee on the bedside table nearest her.

After Harry and her eat breakfast, Harry has to jump on a call and Aurora decides to shower back in her own hotel room where her suitcase still is. Considering they had spent most of the past 10 days together, the morning and afternoon apart is nice. She takes a nap and catches up on a few shows, somewhat of a normal day for her.

Aurora is excited to get back to the shows. To get back to seeing Harry on stage, to seeing Helene, to tour life again. It may have only been just over a week but she misses it. She gets it now, when Harry talks about touring being his favourite part. Aurora’s surprised how much she loves it.

| | | | |

Aurora’s in the middle of sending a text message when Harry comes from nowhere and pulls her along with a tight grip on her hand. Aurora’s eyebrows furrow as a giggle leaves her mouth after his name does. When she gets a good look at him she smiles. He’s preemptively put on his black St Laurent trousers for his show tonight in Santiago but instead of the green glittery shirt he’s meant to be wearing, he has a white Treat People With Kindness t-shirt tucked in.

��Come on, Angel,” he says with a smile as he walks them through the hall. The music and noise from the audience grows.

“Harry, where’re we going?” Aurora almost shouts so he can hear her over the ever growing music. He flashes her a smirk, a dimple showing up.

He nods his head at one of the security guards at a double door and they open a door for them. Aurora thanks the guard with a smile before getting pulled along behind Harry. He slows his pace so she can catch up with him. Once she’s standing by his side, his hand drops from hers and throws his arm around her shoulders. He leads Aurora the rest of the way to where a set of metal stairs lead to the stage. Aurora smiles up at Harry when they stop. He quickly kisses her cheek and his arm slides further over her shoulders, his hand hanging off casually. Harry hums along to ‘Shy’ as Leon Bridges performs on stage.

Though a moment like this isn’t deemed normal by most, it feels completely and utterly normal for Harry and Aurora. Both loving the time spent together at Niall’s show, they grasp onto that feeling - the feeling of music making them closer, reaching a new spot in their souls. He continues to hum and sing along throughout Leon’s set and Aurora finds herself closing her eyes, soothed by the live music and his low humming near her ear.

Harry moves to stand directly behind Aurora, his hands sliding up and down Aurora’s arms while kissing the back of her neck as “Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand” finishes. As the audience cheers for Leon, his hands pause at her shoulders before falling forward, hovering over the front of Aurora casually. He sneaks a kiss behind Aurora’s ear and she giggles at the soft touch, her hands reaching up to settle on his forearms. Aurora turns her head just enough to leave a light kiss at the hinge of Harry’s jaw as “River” begins.

She sighs, remembering the night in Harry's car in London, her body relaxing completely into his. She can still remember the sparkle in his eye, even in the dark of the car, and the small smile when Aurora mentioned loving this specific song and her excitement to hear it live.

There’s a warmth radiating off of Harry’s chest and spreading across Aurora’s back. She can feel the rattle of his chest from the vibrations of the speakers mixed with his quiet singing. His lips are centimeters from her ear. Every couple of words they brush against the shell of her ear, sending continuous shivers down Aurora’s spine. Aurora settles a kiss on his arm, on his bicep near his anatomical heart tattoo. Aurora lets her lips graze there for a moment, completely caught up in the music and the incredibly safe feeling she’s overwhelmed with being wrapped in Harry’s arms. The broadness of his shoulders and his height allows for him to completely envelope her when he crosses his arms over her chest, pulling her into his chest even more. Aurora continues to sink into his chest, melting into his t-shirt and feeling like there is no end to how far she can fall into him. Aurora can feel his slight scruff rub against her cheek every so often. The roughness mixed with the softness of his voice is a feeling that she can’t describe but it makes her heart beat a little faster.

Harry sways every so often, perfectly in time with the strum of the guitar and rattle of the tambourine. The song is nearing the end and the audience is singing along with Leon, the lyrics echo through the arena. Aurora lets her hands drop from his arms and twists around to face him. She wraps her arms around his neck as his wrap around her waist, hands clasping his opposite elbows to pull her in closer. Her hips are square on his, a place she finds herself more often than not. Careful not to ruin the curls Ayae has already set in place, Aurora barely weaves her fingers in the hair at his neck. Harry brushes his nose against hers before he looks her in the eyes. The vocals coming from stage are just as vulnerable as they feel right now. Not a single person in the crew that is bustling around backstage is relevant to them right now. Aurora and Harry feel as if they are the only people standing there in the dark, Leon singing to them and only them. They meet in the middle, Harry’s lips taking in Aurora’s bottom one first. The kiss is slow and deep. When Harry pulls away barely a millimeter it’s only to tilt his head to deepen the kiss.

A 4 minute song. A moment for just the 2 of them. A memory from weeks ago. Aurora wishes somehow that there was a way that she could have 2 Harry’s - one to perform his show on stage and one to love on as she enjoyed the show. Show him how much she loves him. How much she loves listening to him, watching him perform. She’ll have to think of more ways to show how much moments like these mean to her. Ways to show him how she wishes she could hold him as he sang has heart out. Show him how he really is that shining light.

And that’s when the opening lyrics of “River” hit Aurora. Lyrics she’s heard a million times.

“Been traveling these wide roads for so long

My heart's been far from you

Ten-thousand miles gone”

It may be a spiritually inspired song, but for Aurora, especially in this moment with Harry's lips on hers, it's all about them. Coming from miles away from each other, only to travel thousands and thousands of miles together. Hearts finally feeling safe again.

| | | | |

The stage set up is different for the South American leg. Without the rising screen, Harry walks on stage in full view as the opening of ‘Only Angel’ begins. The second he’s on the stage, the minimal lights that are shining on the stage catch the sparkle of the rhinestones that cover each strip of fringe. He faces Sarah’s drum kit, takes a swig of water then raises his arms out to the side showcasing the beautiful detail of his jacket - fringe hanging down from his arms and a row across his back. . Aurora can’t help but smile and the second he turns around as the music kicks off there’s a giant smile on Harry’s face as well.

Aurora’s standing off to the side of the pit, leaning against the wall of the tunnel that leads you in and out of the arena. She sinks her hands into the pockets of her pants as a sigh leaves her lips. Subconsciously, she sings along, song after song. She admires the way he almost saunters across the stage, how he effortlessly draps his hands on the mic stand, the way his hair, even when completely disheveled, is always just so, how he exudes confidence and inclusion, how his voice transports the entire audience to a new place.

During ‘Ever Since New York’ he has to stop singing a few times because he can’t avoid the smile that appears on his face. It makes it impossible to sing the lyrics and Aurora smiles too. She knows that smile. He’s explained it before, it’s like he can’t believe what he’s seeing in front of him, can’t believe it’s real.

Aurora’s heart feels heavy in her chest every time he slows down and sings ‘Meet Me In The Hallway’. The care and focus that goes into every note. The pained look on his face that she wants nothing more than to erase. The softness of his closed eyes contradict the tension in his jaw when the words “you left me in the hallway” come floating out of his mouth and echo through the arena.

He’s back on the main stage, guitar slung over his shoulder after running back from the Bstage. Laughter rumbles through the audience every so often during ‘Anna” as the fringe on his sleeve gets stuck on the pins at the bridge, then again on the strings. It doesn’t faze him though, he keeps going like it really didn’t happen. He does laugh at himself after the song ends, trying to talk with the audience but his habit of talking with his hands fires back at him. The fringe becomes somewhat of a spectacle after he has to yank it from the opening of the guitar when he eventually takes it off.

The fringe really adds to the chaos of Harry’s dancing during ‘What Makes You Beautiful.’ The rhinestones catch every light and just like many times before, he’s his own disco ball it seems. He tries to clip the mic back into its stand while he sings the chorus again, but the fringe flies and gets trapped before the mic fits in it’s home. He shakes his head as he messes with it and continues singing. The smile that’s become permanent on his face only grows bigger.

It’s during ‘The Chain’ and ‘Kiwi’ that she starts to see a few red strips of fabric fall to the floor. Aurora laughs for a bit as she watches Harry on stage but then it turns to a groan when she realises that she’ll have to fix the jacket for tomorrow.

“Guess fringe on your sleeves wasn’t the most functional thing,” Aurora says to Harry as she takes the jacket off his shoulders. “Looks like you shredded a few and ripped some off when they got stuck on your guitar strings,” she laughs.

“Sorry,” Harry apologizes.

“No worries, I’ll just fix 'em tomorrow.” Aurora takes a closer look at the sleeves once it’s back on the hanger. “I could adjust it a bit if the fringey bits were annoying, just move them away from the cuff,” Aurora offers.

“Didn’t really notice ‘em until they got snagged, but even then it didn’t bother me.”

“Okay, let me know if you change your mind before I work on it tomorrow.” Harry hums.

“You did really great tonight, feel like I don’t say it enough,” Aurora compliments, a feeling of guilt at the bottom of her stomach. She takes the trousers from Harry, hanging them up besides the jacket. “You always do great,” she adds. Harry doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to. Aurora can see in the mirror off to the side, his dimple sinking in and a smirk coming across his face. “Didn’t realise how much I truly love watching you on stage until this past week.”

It wasn’t until Harry got back up on stage in Buenos Aires that Aurora realised how much she missed seeing him on stage. It wasn’t until then that she realised they’d be traveling back to the US and that they’re more than halfway through the tour. It’s not that she hadn’t been enjoying it. Aurora always gets this way when something is nearing the end. Like in the last semester of college and during the last few weeks of high school, she had gotten this weird feeling in her chest, something that almost resembled regret but she didn’t have too many regrets from high school or college. The same feeling appeared at the end of her internship with Harry Lambert, but there were absolutely no regrets then. She finally put it into words what this almost regretful, sad, deep feeling was. It was simply her not wanting change, not wanting to lose the familiarity of her current life. Why should things end when you’re enjoying them? Living in the moment, as cliche as it is, is what Aurora has to remind herself--remind herself to enjoy what’s happening right now rather than what will come later. So here she is, after watching him perform on stage, a range of emotions flowing through her, all interrupting what she’s trying to get out. How does she tell the rockstar in front of her that she loves him in every sense of the word. That she loves him on and off stage. How does she explain that she thinks she’s scared of what the end of the tour will bring. And at the end of the day, how does she, Aurora Marie Del Gatto from a small suburb in New York, get to love the rockstar that performs on stage every night to thousands of people and the man that is so inherently down to earth and loving?

Aurora takes his sweaty white button down from him and hangs that up as well and instead of bringing up what’s actually running through her head she says, “Should wear the black button down tomorrow, I’ll get the white one dry cleaned when we get to the US.”

She turns to Harry as he’s pulling down a black t-shirt over his stomach. He runs a hand through the mess of hair on his head, a soft smile on his relaxed face. The look he gives her organizes her brain in an instant it feels like.“I always knew I loved watching you on stage, but seeing you back up there-” she pauses and shakes her head. “Being with you is one thing,” she continues as she steps closer to him, a light touch of her hand along his jaw, “but seeing you up there… it’s something else.” Aurora’s other hand reaches for his face before she speaks again. “I’m- I’m- I don’t even know if I have the word to explain it properly.” A shake of her head like she’s rattling her unorganized thoughts around in her head. “Proud of you,” she says simply before she presses her lips to his. Harry’s arms wrap around Aurora’s waist tightly, simultaneously bringing her closer to him and opening his mouth up to kiss her more. It’s Aurora who pulls away first, both of their chest rising and falling more than before. Her hands move from his face, then scratch at his back before she’s properly hugging him. Aurora’s arms are heavy on his shoulders and she feels his jaw move slightly as she noses at the vein in his neck.

It could be 2 minutes or 2 hours later when Harry loosens his grip on Aurora, pulling away from her, his smile bright but tired. Harry hums as he kisses her temple.

“I’m gonna make the rounds, quick,” he says, his voice gravelly and tired.

“I promised Issac, I’d call him tonight.” Aurora’s mentioned Issac, her best friend from childhood, a few times to Harry. “He’s 2 hours behind us so it’s kind of a perfect time for him,” she explains. Besides her sister, Issac knows absolutely everything, maybe even more. He wasn’t the best with advice but he always listened. Issac and Aurora always joked about how they are pretty much the same person while they were growing up and even in adulthood not much has changed.

“Oh yeah,” he says, remembering Aurora mentioning it earlier. “I’m sorry, just tired.”

Aurora’s eyebrows furrow, “no need to be sorry.” She lifts a hand to his face, “get some rest, okay? and I’ll see you tomorrow,” she assures him.

“Ror, thanks for uh-” he doesn’t know how to thank her for what she said earlier. “Thanks for-”

“No need to thank me,” she cuts him off, shaking her head. She reaches up to kiss him one last time for the night. “I love you, Harry.”

“Love you too,” he whispers with a squeeze to her waist then a hand through her hair.

Aurora waves to everyone in the arena saying goodnight and see ya tomorrow’s to everyone see passes. It's pretty much perfect timing when her phone rings as she unlocks her hotel room door no more than 15 minutes later.

“Issac!” she greets him when his face shows up on her phone. His hair is hidden by one of the many national park hats he owns and his face is covered by his thick beard.

“Roo!” he says excitedly. When they first met when they were 5, ‘Aurora’ wasn’t the easy name to pronounce and Issac being Issac came up with his own nickname for her and ‘Roo’ was it.

“How are you?” she asks, setting the phone down on the bathroom counter.

“I’m great! My last trip was amazing. The dogs loved it and I got some really good photos.” Issac is a photographer for the National Park Service which means lots of camping trip and lots of traveling. “I’ll have to send you some photos tomorrow when I edit them.”

“Yes please! Where are the pups?”

Issac turns his facetime to the back camera. His 2 Australian shepards are passed out next to each other on the rug. “They’re always so tired when we get back,” Issac comments as he flips the camera back to him. Aurora aw’s as his dogs as she wipes the makeup off her face. “How was the show tonight?”

“Really good.”

“I know that look,” Issac comments. “Tell me more.”

Issac reads her better than anyone, Aurora didn’t even know she had a specific look on her face. “I don’t know,” she says, drying off her face and then moving to drop herself on the bed. “Adult feelings are hard,” Aurora says with a laugh.

“You guys already said ‘I love you’ and are sleeping together… what else could there be?”

Aurora groans. “Him being an international rockstar messes with my head sometimes and tour is almost over.”

“Ohhhh,” Issac says realising what’s happening. He’s been there for every single ‘existential dread of change’ conversation--his name for it, not hers. “Roo, you’ve got a full month of tour in front of you and if you think Harry’s gonna drop you the second that last show ends you’ve got something coming.”

“You don’t know that,” she says with a frown. “Roo, do you not think he actually loves you?”

“No!” she says quickly. “I’m not questioning that!”

“If you’re not questioning that then why would you even think anything is going to change?”

“Things always change and touring is a different world. Once tour is over, everything changes.”

“Not everything will change. He’ll still love you after that last show and you’ll both start something new. He’ll make more music, you’ll keep styling him and maybe your boss will get you some other jobs in the meantime.” Aurora lets out a heavy sigh. “And he’ll tour again and you’ll do it again.”

“I know you’re right. You always are with these things,” she sighs again. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

“Thanks for talking me down,”

“Always.”

“Now, shall we drink and talk or drink and watch a movie?”

Issac gets a cold beer from his fridge and Aurora orders wine via room service. They decide on a movie they’ve both seen a million times because without a doubt they’ll end up talking through it anyways. When the movie ends they continue chatting through the credits.

“Okay, you compare the tour dates with your calendar and then let me know which one works for you,” Aurora confirms.

“Maybe I'll just tag along on the rest of the tour,” he jokes.

They’re both laughing despite their tiredness but they eventually stop and say goodnight.

Aurora snuggles into the hotel bed after messing with the sheets and tossing the extra pillows to the floor. She falls asleep fast now that her head is clear, the feeling in her chest is not so heavy--the magic effects of a facetime with her best friend.

| | | | |

Aurora’s sat on the worn down couch in Harry’s dressing room, Harry’s fringe covered jacket that he wore the night before sprawled across her lap, those random Gucci pillows to her left. In front of her on the coffee table, her laptop is propped open, her mother’s smiling face looking back at her.

“Yeah, I’ve gotta reattach the ones we still have and then I’m making some makeshift ones to fill any other empty space.”

“You know better than anyone that you should always do a dress rehearsal,” Aurora’s mom reminds her.

“Mom,” she groans, “yes, I know that, but that’s kinda hard when there’s almost 100 looks. We didn’t have much time before the tour started.”

“Doesn’t he rehearse or something before each show?” Aurora rolls her eyes. She is more annoyed with herself than her mother right now.

“Soundcheck, yeah.” She lets out a sigh. “I should’ve had him wear the jacket for soundcheck at least.” Aurora threads a needle with red thread that matches the fringe. “Didn’t really cross my mind. Everything was already designed and made with him performing on stage and everything, but I didn’t think about things getting stuck in his guitar. I was only thinking about how amazing the fringe would look as he danced around.”

“Rory, sweetie, it’s okay, this is your job anyways, yeah? Making sure he looks good on stage, making repairs and all. I saw a few videos and you were right about how amazing it looks.”

“Yeah it’s fine. I just can’t believe it didn’t cross my mind.” Aurora shakes her head with a laugh. “Anyways, how’ve you been doing?”

“Busy at work but Leila came to visit last weekend. She tells me you’re pretty smitten,” her mom shares.

“Leila,” Aurora hisses. “What on earth did she tell you?” She asks with her eyes narrowed. She does a quick look at the door and it’s still only ajar like she left it. She’d prefer not to have this conversation with everyone being in earshot but this is the best she could do now.

“More than you have.”

“Mom, come on! You can’t expect me to tell you everything or that I tell you everything I tell Leila!” Aurora drops her head back and it lands on the back of the couch. “Leila has something else coming for her when I see her.”

“Aurora Marie,” her mother scolds. Aurora groans. “If it makes you feel better I don’t think she told me everything, but it was still more than you’ve shared.” Aurora looks at her mom through the webcam on her laptop. “She said you stayed at his house in London,” her mother’s eyes soften, trying to relay that she's concerned and skeptical before she continues, “and that he also acted extremely jealous-”

“Do not,” Aurora warns her mother. “Do not pretend like you know anything.”

“Aurora, I’m just worried,” she pleads.

“Harry is not Adrian.” Aurora can’t believe she even has to say that sentence out loud. She can feel her chest tighten up. She catches a glimpse of what she looks like in the small rectangle at the top of the screen and she’s met with her own scowl. Aurora closes her eyes and lets out a breath through her nose. “It was nowhere near the same situation, Mom. I can promise you that.” She can’t believe her mom had the audacity to even think about comparing Harry to her ex boyfriend, Adrian.

“It’s hard not to make those conclusions if you’re keeping things from me.”

“Can you see why I didn’t tell you?”

“Rory, please, you have to understand that I worry, it’s my job.” Aurora can see her mother is trying to apologize.

“Mom, you have to trust me. Yes, Adrian was a jealous asshole and it ruined me. You don’t have to remind me, I was the one in the relationship.” Aurora doesn’t want to go through this. At this point she’d rather Leila told their mother about her sex life. “But this is not Adrian, it’s Harry and the situation was completely different.”

“A jealous man is a jealous man,” her mother says with what seems to be an all knowing tone.

“Mom, stop, please. It was so far from anything that I have ever dealt with before,” Aurora’s growing frustration is boiling in her chest now. Neither of them speak for a minute. Aurora is running through her thoughts trying to find a way to explain this in a way her mother will understand. “Harry’s different. The whole situation was completely different.” A memory sparks and Aurora takes a deep breath. “Okay, look at it this way. You know how I used to get during dance competitions? When I was overly exhausted and stressed? All my emotions at an all time high? That’s what tour is like, but times 10. Harry’s on stage almost every night and add in the traveling and sprinkle in the stress of our new relationship, which at the time was not official. I was stressed over the last part. I had just met his mom and sister and all his friends and I won’t go into it but there was a lot going on. There was a lot going on for both of us and in the midst of the exhaustion and stress and all the other emotions that were floating around, Harry jumped to conclusions. His brain played tricks on him.” Aurora pauses for a moment, her mom nodding along with the explanation. “My brain did the same to me during competitions. You know what that looks like, you know exactly what happened all of those times. I always needed a reasoning voice to calm me down, to explain to me what was really going on. You had to be tough on me sometimes, but you did it because you love me. I dealt with Harry the same way, with love and care but didn’t take any bullshit.” Aurora’s mother sighs then purses her lips together in thought. “Harry did not act on his jealousy like Adrian did. He came to me, we talked it out. I made him apologize.”

Okay is all her mom says so Aurora goes on.

“Mom, you’ve gotta trust me. I’ve learned from the past. I’ve grown up. I’m doing good. and god, I’ve never been happier.”

“I can see that,” her mom says with a smile. “I don’t know how much I have to say this, but I will always worry about you.”

“Please just try to not worry so much.” They look at each other through the screen. “I love you,” Aurora reminds her mother with a smile.

“I love you too, sweetie.”

“Any other burning concerns?” Aurora jokes. Her mother shakes her head with a soft laugh. “Good, anyways, not long till I’ll see you and you’ll get to meet him.”

“Can’t wait!” Her mother beams.

“Well, I called ‘cause I missed ya but also ‘cause I had a question.” Aurora hears the door creak and she turns her head to see it open and Harry come through. He’s wearing an old red t-shirt and black workout shorts. It’s clear he’s just finished training with the sweat clinging to his curls, the water bottle in his hand and his headphones in his ears.

“What was the question?” Aurora’s mother’s voice brings her attention back to the screen and the jacket in her lap.

“Yeah, so I have to make a few more fringe pieces to replace the missing ones and I couldn’t decide which fabric would match best,” Aurora reaches to the side of her for the few pieces of fabric she pulled from her case earlier.

“Hiya, Ror,” Harry says softly as he rounds the back of the couch. “Oh hello,” he says surprisingly when he sees an older woman on the screen. “You must be Rory’s mum,” he concludes. “Ror, looks just like you.” The eyes that stare at him through the computer screen are familiar and her hair is just like Aurora’s only with some flecks of grey throughout the dark dark brown strands.

“Well hello, Harry,” Aurora’s mom responds with a smile.

“Don’t want to interrupt,” he comments quickly, “just grabbing a quick kiss and then off to shower.” Aurora’s cheeks heat up quickly as she lets out a disbelieving huff. And with a promise on his word, Harry bends down, tilts Aurora’s chin with his free hand, lands a fleeting kiss on her lips and walks out of frame. Aurora’s mom has a bright smile on her face.

“What is that look for?” Aurora asks her mom through a giggle she can’t suppress.

“He’s sweet.”

“Shush, now help me decide which fabric to use so I can get back to work,” Aurora begs.

“My mom thinks you’re sweet,” Aurora says as she stands in front of the mirror in the bathroom of the hotel room. Harry’s ears perk up and he follows her voice. When he leans against the door frame of the bathroom he smiles at the sight in front of him.

The pair of cotton cut off shorts Aurora is wearing are rolled at the waistband to make up for the fact that they’ve stretched out over the years she’s had them. One of the few tour t-shirts she’s acquired over the past few months hangs loose off her shoulders and is tucked into the waistband of her shorts. Hot pink fuzzy socks cover her feet.

“Does she?” Harry asks as he crosses his arms over his chest. Aurora’s face is covered in soap now. She reaches for a clean washcloth to wet and wipe the soap from her face. She smiles at him through the mirror as she hums back to him. “and why’s that?”

“Well we were talking about you, had to clear some things up but then you came in and said Hi to her and then she didn’t question a thing.” Harry’s eyebrows furrow at the answer. He decides to walk into the bathroom and leans against the counter, his back to the mirror and head turned towards Aurora. She’s applying a new product from a blue bottle to her face, Harry doesn’t pay much attention to what it is, more interested in Aurora’s admission.

“What d’ya mean clear things up?”

“Oh,” Aurora says softly. She reaches out a hand to one of his forearms that’s crossed over his chest. She squeezes it before dropping her hand and grabbing another beauty product from her makeup back. “Nothing you have to worry about. She brought up my ex from a few years ago. He wasn’t-” Aurora pauses and looks to Harry, “he wasn’t the greatest.” She applies moisturize before she continues, Harry's eye’s not moving from her face. She takes a deep breath then turns her whole body so she can comfortably look at him. “My mother worries that every guy I meet is going to be like him. No need for me to go into detail but, he was obscenely jealous. No matter what I did he got upset over it. I thought I loved him at the time and didn’t really see how bad it was. Took a lot of convincing from my friend and Leila and my mom that he was bad news. He really messed with my head for awhile.” Aurora sighs as she searches Harry’s face. She can’t tell exactly what he’s thinking but his brows are furrowed, a crease in his forehead and there’s tension in his arms that wasn’t there before. “But I learned from it, know how I deserve to be treated now.”

“You deserve the world,” Harry says and it surprises Aurora. “Just hope I can give you it.”

Aurora’s eyebrows raise in the middle of her face and her lips part. Never has anyone said something like that to her. She releases a breath before a small smile creeps up on her face.

“Think you might deserve even more than the world,” Harry adds.

Not even a full second passes before Aurora is cradling Harry’s face and placing a bruising kiss to his lips. Just as fast, Harry’s arms wrap around her waist, pulling her body into his. “I’m gonna try my damndest to give you it though,” he says against her mouth when they pull apart momentarily. Twisting them around, he grips her waist tighter and lifts her onto the empty space on the bathroom counter.

“I hope to do the same for you, ya know,” Aurora whispers back to him. Their foreheads are pressed together and they just look at each other for a moment. They end up giggling and Aurora can’t help but kiss each and every crinkle that appears on Harry's face as he smiles that smile, the one she’s pretty sure he saves just for her. She starts at his dimples, which are so deep that they seem never ending. She kisses high on his cheek, leading to the creases at his eyes. It’s here she can see the brightness of the green in his eyes even through the squint he has right now. Her kisses land on the bridge of his nose and travel down following the lines that appear as he scrunches his nose, giggles still leaving his mouth. She gives up on trying to land a kiss on every single crease and line and divot and decides to kiss every square inch of his face before she finds his lips again. They’re both giggling lightly still and thought it makes it hard to kiss properly, they don’t stop. Their teeth knock together several times, kisses barely landing on each other's lips but they don’t care.

It’s long past midnight but neither of them care to move from where they are. Tomorrow’s a travel day, they can catch up on sleep thenn. And anyways, standing in the crappy fluorescent lighting of the hotel bathroom Harry can’t help but think about how he’s falling more in love by the second.

Her laughter mixes with his and it echoes off the tiled walls and it sounds just like a song.

__________

thanks for reading !!! I hope you enjoyed !!!

#harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurb #harry styles x reader #sequins & zippers #aurora on tour #harry styles fanfiction #one direction imagine

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dropsiaczek-the-smartest-avenger · 5 years ago

Text

Shut up and sleep with me (Sebastian Stan x reader)

(The gif’s not mine, all credits to the original owner)

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x fem!reader

Word count: 2199

Warnings: smut, swearing

It was a damn cold and snowy night in mid-January, and I was roaming mindlessly through the streets of Dublin. A shitty ending to an even more shitty day. It all started with a car crash I had in the morning, then I was informed that the university cut off financing of the project I’ve been working on for the past six months and when I came home I walked in on my fiancé having sex in our bedroom with my best friend. The only comforting aspect of this situation was that Craig was wearing socks. Only socks. And no matter how many times I spoke of it, he always forgot to take them off. Luckily the house is mine, so I told him to pack his stuff and be gone by morning. And before he even had a chance to say something, I left slamming the door.

The moment I was leaving the house I haven’t really thought what I was going to do with myself for the night. But now I really wished I had kicked Craig and that bitch out straight away. I could rent a room in some hotel, but at that moment getting drunk in some pub seemed more appealing, and I didn’t really care that I may come across my students. My favourite spot called Dancing Leprechaun was just two blocks away, so I decided to head there.

The place was loud and crowded as always. It was a good place to disappear for the world. I took a seat at the bar.

“Same as always?” the bartender asked. He has served me many times before, but only just now I noticed his name was Joey.

“Make it double,” I replied with a slight nod.

“Your boy is busy, couldn’t come?” the bartender a small talk while handing me the glass.

“Well, when I last saw him, he was busy doing my best friend, and judging by the sounds they made, they both came,” I replied with a bitter smile.

Joey gave me a surprised look. I just shrugged in response and took care of my glass. The drink was gone faster than I expected, but it helped me feel less miserable, so I ordered another one.

“Second double whiskey on the rocks? You’re a tough one,” said a deep voice to my right. I looked into the direction of the voice and saw a tall, well-built man with shoulder-long brown hair and sharp blue eyes. “Mind if I join?”

“Whatever,” I murmured and shrugged again.

“Hey, if you don’t want my company just say a word and I’ll leave you alone.”

“It’s fine.”

The guy sat on a stool next to me and ordered a drink. “Tough day? I’m Sebastian by the way.”

“I know,” I replied bluntly. Perhaps, if the circumstances were different, I’d be fangirling over him. It’s not like you meet a famous Marvel actor every day after all. But in that particular moment the picture of Craig and my best friend fucking was the only thing on my mind. And maybe a desperate need to get drunk. “(Y/n). And yeah, I guess we can put it that way.”

We sat there for a moment in silence, sipping on our drinks and taking short glances at each other.

“May I ask what put you in such bad mood?” Sebastian broke the silence.

Normally I would never confide in a stranger, but now alcohol has done its job and Sebastian heard the whole story about how my relationship with Craig was falling apart for some time now, but I still wanted to fight for it and that today I caught that stupid cheating bastard fucking my friend. Sebastian listened to me in silence and didn’t dare to interrupt before I announced that was all I had to say.

“I think I know how to make you feel better, if you’ll allow me.”

“Alcohol will do for now, thanks.”

We sat there for some more time, ordering more drinks and talking about some random stuff. We caught the flow really fast and soon discovered we have quite a lot in common. We like the same music, books, we like playing boardgames and both are gamers.

It was nearly midnight when I decided I had enough and it’s time to go.

“Will you turn into Cinderella at midnight?” Sebastian asked laughing.

I shook my head with a smile. “I doubt I can look any worse than this.”

“Oh, come on, (y/n)! You are a very beautiful woman! Where will you go anyway?” Sebastian exclaimed and grabbed my hands. “Come with me to my place. I promise I will make you feel like a queen.”

I don’t know if it was all the alcohol I drank of if the slutty side of my personality took over, but I agreed to go with Sebastian to his hotel room. On our way we stepped into a liquor store and bought two bottles of cheap red wine.

“Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thanks,” I said and sat on the edge of his bed. Sebastian poured the wine and handed me one glass and sat on a chair opposite of me. We sat there, drinking wine and chatting some more. When the second bottle was empty, Sebastian offered he’d make me some tea and I gladly accepted it. When we sipped slowly on the hot beverage, he came up with an idea to play truth or dare. The idea reminded me all the scout camps I attended while in junior high, but I thought it would be nice to feel immature again, so I agreed without any resistance.

“I’ll go easy on you for the beginning,” Sebastian said with a chuckle. “Is there anything you hadn’t tried in bed, but would very much like to try?”

I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. “Well…that would be a threesome,” I answered truthfully. “With two guys!” I added quickly, seeing Sebastian’s lecherous smile.

“Interesting…” the man pretended to contemplate what I said.

“My turn! Truth or dare?” I asked smiling widely.

“Dare.”

“Kiss me.”

A slight look of surprise came across Sebastian’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a wide grin. He came closer and crashed his lips with mine. I thought it would be only an innocent kiss, but the dare turned into a heated make-out session. Sebastian pushed me down onto the bed and laid on top of me with one of his hands on the side of my head, and the other crept slowly under my shirt and massaged my breasts. I rolled over so that I was sat on top of Sebastian.

“The dare didn’t involve touching,” I warned Sebastian with a smile and fixed my bra and shirt.

“Did you expect I’d limit myself to a peck?”

“Well…yes,” I replied with a wink.

Sebastian made a sound that was something between a laugh and a groan. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. But in case you wanted to know, your breasts feel really nice,” he said with his hands placed comfortably on my hips and slowly massaging them.

“Right…okay, give me a second.” I crawled off Seb’s body and ran to the bathroom, grabbing my purse on the way. I quickly cleaned my woman’s parts with wet wipes, applied some perfume and brushed my hair. “Won’t get any better,” I whispered to myself and went back into the room.

“I’m all yours,” I announced with a seductive smile, while crawling back on the bed and on top of Sebastian.

“I will make you feel like a queen,” Sebastian said and started to unbutton my shirt and unclipped my bra and then took them off me and threw on the floor. “They look just as nice as they feel.”

“Oh stop, you’re making me blush.”

Seb chuckled and lifted himself up a little to take one of my nipples into his mouth. He started to suck on It slowly while massaging the other one with his hand and I felt warmth spreading in my body. What I also felt was a growing bulge in Sebastian’s pants. I moaned quietly when Sebastian bit on my nipple. My reaction made him laugh slightly. He broke away from my nipple and looked me in the eye.

“You know what I think is the real art?” He asked while trying to unbutton his shirt. I shook my head in response. “Making a woman cum only by using my mouth. Do you want me to do everything alone?” He asked with a fake resentment in his voice and looking down at his shirt and then at me.

“Well, I’m the queen here, so you know…” I replied with a laugh and undid his shirt quickly. I then slipped it off his shoulders and tossed it away. “Oh man, I love hairy chests,” I said with a laugh. Seb laughed along. He then undid and slid off my skinny jeans along with my panties, and in the very end he took off my socks.

“Nothing worse than socks during sex,” I said laughing again.

“Only socks,” Sebastian pointed out with a smile and placed himself between my legs. Once again, he kissed me on the lips, then neck, both breasts, belly, until he reached my pussy. Sebastian smiled at me one final time before burying one of his fingers inside me. He started to work it in and out, and curl inside to stimulate my G spot. When Sebastian noticed the look of pleasure on my face, he placed his lips on my clit and started to suck on it and tease with his tongue. I moaned, quietly at first, then louder. The pressure filling my body made me arch my back and loudly moan against my soft spot. I felt Sebastian smile. Even his breath teased me now. I felt the peak approaching and Seb was still working his finger and lips on my pussy.

“Oh yes…Sebastian,” I breathed out quietly. “Fuck me. Please, do it now.”

My wish was his command. He moved his lips away from my clit and slipped his finger out of me.

“You’re so sweet down there,” he whispered with a smile. My hands found their way to Sebastian’s trousers and unbuckled them. He took them off along with his boxers and socks. But before anything more happened, Sebastian took out a pack of condoms from the bedside drawer and put one of them on.

“Safety comes first,” he said and then flipped me over so I was laying on my stomach. I lifted myself to all fours and Sebastian positioned himself behind me. His hands found their way to my hips.

“Ready, my queen?”

“Just do it already!”

He slowly slid his cock inside me, stretching me and filling up. “You’re so tight,” Sebastian hissed in my ear before nibbling on my earlobe. He gave me a moment to adjust to his size before he started to move in and out, slowly at first but picking up the pace. I felt the heat starting to build up in my core and it grew with each of Sebastian’s thrusts.

“Oh my God, yes,” I moaned when Seb moved one of his hands to my clit and massaged it.

“Cum for me, pretty girl,” Sebastian whispered in my ear and sped up even more. His deep voice and hot breath were enough to push me over the edge. I felt my walls tighten around Sebastian’s shaft and I screamed his name loudly as my orgasm hit me. My arms and legs started to shake. Watching and feeling me in my ecstasy made Sebastian come as well and I felt his penis twitch inside me when his sperm spilled into the condom. He stayed inside me for few seconds longer before sliding out and heading to the bathroom to clean himself up. I moved myself to the edge of the bed and sat there in silence.

“Did I make you feel like a queen?” Sebastian asked looking at me from the bathroom with a smirk.

“Yeah, but now this queen has to find a place to stay for the night.”

“I don’t mind having you here for the night,” the man offered.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

***************************************************************************************

I was woken up by the sun shining through the window and straight onto my face. I checked the clock on my phone, it was already 9 am, do I decided it was time to pull myself together and head back home. Craig should be gone by now. I heard Sebastian shuffle in bed as I put my clothes on.

“Leaving so early and without a goodbye?” Sebastian asked in a sleepy raspy voice.

“That was the plan,” I replied without turning around to face him.

“You know you don’t have to.”

“I do.” I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed to the door. I was halfway out when the man asked, “will I see you again?”

This time I turned to face Sebastian whose look was full of hope and admiration. “I doubt it,” I said shaking my head and closing the door behind me, and leaving Sebastian there alone, staring at the door.

You are all very welcome to leave comments and tell me if you liked it or not!

@kuroshikine

#sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan x ofc #sebastian stan imagine #Bucky Barnes #james buchanan barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes imagine #marvel #marvel imagine #sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan fic #sebastian stan fandom #sebastian stan smut #marvel fandom #sebastian stan one shot

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holidayinn01 · 9 months ago

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Discover the Premium Amenities in Cheap Hotel Rooms Dublin

Get premium amenities like an indoor pool, gym, refrigerator, microwave, laundry, housekeeping, and more in cheap hotel rooms Dublin. For more information view our infographic and visit our website for bookings.

#best places to stay in dublin #cheap hotel rooms dublin

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imanes · 6 years ago

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Imane! I’d luv to start traveling but tremendously afraid to go at it alone + how do you afford your trips? Sending lots of warmth 💓

hi babe! first of all i don’t travel alone so i can’t really give you advice but if you mean organising things on your own it’s a lot easier than people think! as far as how i afford my trips i know what my yearly income is and i know how much i want to dedicate to my savings and how much i can afford to spend on traveling. but when i was in college and on a much tighter budget here is what i did (and continue to do to a certain extent!)

visit family if you can. the good thing is that you don’t have to pay for the accommodation and that is a huge saving

don’t travel during high seasons as the price go waaaaaay higher in these periods. i sometimes travel at “odd” times to avoid the mass of tourists and getting ripped off lol that’s why i like traveling during winter even tho it’s cold... it’s worth it

put google flight alerts and use skyscanner to compare airfares, keep up to date with price changes and potentially change the dates of your trip so that you can save as much as possible on your tickets

travel to countries that are close by rather than trying to see how you can fit in a trip to the other side of the world. low-cost companies will offer more affordable options for countries that are geographically close to your homebase most of the time

compare accommodations on agoda, airbnb and booking.com but i typically use the first two bc they tend to offer better prices (of course i always compare everything before making any purchase... i love a good deal). you can also find deals on groupon!! some of my friends have used couchsurfing but i can’t vouch for it personally. i’d hate to stay at someone’s house on the couch lmao but like renting a room via airbnb can be a good option (check the comments first!! i did it once and had a great time but i wouldn’t do it for every occasion obv)

if you pick an airbnb, the good thing is that you can cook your meals. so don’t hesitate to favour countries where you know grocery shopping will be at a reasonable price!

walk as much as you can and plan out your visits by grouping things to do according to their location in the city. that way you can minimise your spendings on transportation

try not to buy souvenirs lol they’re useless

set up a daily budget for food and other things for every day of your trip

speaking of budget i never love excel as much as when i’m doing my vacation budget spreadsheets... they’re so helpful and help you visualise where the bulk of your expenses will be and how you can divide your total budget in different categories

don’t plan a trip too late but don’t do it too early either!! that’s why i put google flight alerts on tickets that i am interested in so that i can follow price fluctuation and get it for as low as possible. for example for thailand i put the alert when it was at 600€ but it lowered to 480€ so that’s 120€ saved for smt else :-)

if you live in a small country like me u can take the bus or the train to a neighbouring country but if you live in a big one you should definitely give a chance to traveling inside your own borders!! there are plenty of things to visit in one’s own country and you don’t have to think about the language barrier and/or the currency exchange!

speaking of currency exchange... always look it up on google beforehand, people on tripadvisor and such will tell you which places to avoid so that you don’t lose too much money during the exchange since the rates can differ from one provider to the other

so yeah for me it’s mostly a matter of preparation and comparison! you just have to start somewhere like don’t pick the location first but rather list a pool of places you’d like to visit and check the prices for lower seasons (you can google which seasons see lower touristic traffic to plan accordingly) and check how much staying there costs. like for example if i were to go to dublin, tickets would be cheap but accommodations would be very expensive but if i also wanted to visit lisbon, flights and accommodations could be a bargain. you kind of have to map out where you want to go and how much it’s going to cost you by doing extensive research and once you’re there, try not to be too fancy and set up a daily budget and a contingency budget for unforeseen expenses. it’s time consuming but easy and fun! or at least it is for me ajdlkjgdkg i hope this helped like this is all common sense but a lot of people don’t know about agoda.com and i love booking hotels there bc they have great bargains!

#Anonymous

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jayblanc · 5 years ago

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dreamwidth update:

77th Worldcon Day 0 My flight to Dublin taught me several things. BHX uses terrible uncomfortable wheelchairs for disabled passenger assistance. The bus from Dublin Airport only notationally has a bus stop at The Point Campus, leaving you on the wrong side of a main road with no nearby crossing. (The return bus to the airport was worse, with it not stopping at the alleged bust stop at all.) The Point Campus is, at time of writing, still a large building site, and was used as the over-flow event space for Worldcon precisely because there were large unused warehouse spaces for yet to open retail they could occupy. (Coincidentally, part of the construction is a large newer convention centre. Maybe if the Worldcon returns, it'll be held entirely on the Point Campus) After check in at the hotel, I acquainted myself with the Luas tram that stopped just outside. (Pro tip for visitors to Dublin, get a Visit transit card, and use the trams.) Getting off at the next stop was just a very short walk into the Convention centre in order to pick up my badge. Which was mildly derailed when spotting an immediate problem that needed to be fixed got me volunteered into Ops before I could get back to the safety of my hotel. Day 1 With nothing in particular I wanted to go to on the opening day, I put in a shift as Ops troubleshooter and cat herder. Once my shift ended, I went for a short sight seeing and shopping trip in Dublin city centre, before deciding to grab cheap foods and watch the opening ceremonies from my hotel room via video. Day 2 Crowd control happened, access points set up, many people directed to the toilets. Writers were guided to their Signings. Issues with queues came up and were handled for various values of handled. In between ops stuff, I took in a couple of panels, and saw a little more of Dublin. But mainly tried to not over-work myself. Day 3 An Ops shift started with helping set up and operate Green Room in the Point Campus, which happened to be the cafe of an Odeon. The convention had rented the entire cinema out as extra presentation and panel space. Occasional jaunts around the rest of the building occurred as Ops issues happened and were addressed. And then my shift was over, and lunch happened before heading over to see the Business of Webcomics panel. After which I got a chance to hang out with Ursula and Kevin, who got me back onto playing Pokemon Go. Later that day there was a bit of an issue in the Ops office. Someone decided to dispose of some kind of very smelly fermented fish product in waste paper basket. This would be obnoxious in its self, but our head of Ops is allergic to fish, and had to be evacuated and taken to medical. The big problem was that removing the waste paper basket did not remove the smell. I tried to get the wall panel controls to ventilate the room, and find someone from site to help us. We ended up needing to convince site to allow us to run the air conditioner at full blast so we could have our head of Ops back. Thankfully, we were able to do so head of Ops made a full recovery after treatment and was back on the job pretty quickly. Day 4 Alas, I ended up getting hit with a migraine due to over-working myself the prior day. This led to a day in my hotel room, and watching the Hugos (and that Astounding moment) remotely via video. Day 5 I put in my final shift as daring and ruthless Ops trouble-shooter, redeemed my Groats, and got my T-Shirt. Brief meet-ups occurred with Peter Moorwood and Diane Duane, as well as a lot of people from the Alt.Fan.Pratchett days. I managed to catch a very interesting panel on Writing Humour in Fantasy, and ended up being their microphone tech so people could ask questions. And my Worldcon came to an end. Day 6 Or Did It... Due to the Ryan Air strike, Mary Robinette Kowal was delayed in Dublin an extra day and announced a pub-writers-con at the Central Hotel's Library Bar. I got there after a short period of getting lost in Temple Bar, and experiencing the maximum Oirishness of the Tourist district. We chatted, we charged our laptops and devices, we wrote, there were nice scones. And then Worldcon really was over, and I made my way back to my hotel to pack up and be ready for my flight home in the morning. (With a detour to get Churros.) comments Comment? https://ift.tt/2ZMPJ19

#crossposted #dreamwidth #journal

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the-beastslayers-queen · 6 years ago

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Magic and Moonlight: Chapter 24

Here I am with chapter 24. Tagging: @queenofthearchitect @biforbecky2belts @balorsbitxh @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk @mox-made-me-do-it @sassyspacedust @afauss2009 @calwitch and @never-sawft-princess If you want to be tagged, hit my inbox. Enjoy!

My feud with Colby was going great. Kane has been hounding him at every turn and I was enjoying every second of it. Despite our feuding, Colby and I still rode together between venues. But today were on our flight to get started on the European tour before Survivor Series. Since Colby and I were feuding, we were on the same tour and heading to Dublin, Ireland for the first stop. Our plane had just touched down and Colby and I were waiting for our luggage.

“Are you excited for this tour,” Colby asked as he grabbed our bags from the luggage claim belt.

“I am,” I smiled as I took my bags from him before lacing our fingers together to go to bus queue where we’d be gathering with other superstars on our tour team, “I didn’t get to enjoy the last tour since I was out pregnant with Tyler.”

“You’ll have a blast I promise,” he smiled as we joined back up with Cesaro and several other stars from the locker room, “Do you have a match during the first show?”

“Yeah I’m going against Naomi,” I replied, “I heard you have a street fight with Kane. You’re going to do great.”

The show was well under way and I had already had my match, which I won. I was now on the stage, mic in hand, and Colby was in the ring. I was going to tear Colby apart before his title defense against Kane in his street fight.

“Seth, you really are carrying the company on your back,” I chuckled a little, “Because it clearly is so easy that a simple idiot like you has been able to stay champion from sheer dumb luck and cheap tactics. I don’t think you deserve to be the top guy of the company. And Kane is going to fix all of that tonight.”

With that, Kane entered the arena and took to the ring. He dominated the match for quite a while. Soon Colby had him set up to take a huge spot they had planned before we made the trip to Dublin.

Colby was on the top rope and Kane stood on the middle rope. Colby went to do a sunset flip, a move he has done hundreds of times without an issue. But this one ended up differently. When came down behind Kane, his foot hit the matt wrong and he collapsed hard. Colby had to use the ropes to stand back up. He somehow was able to pick up Kane and send him through the table set up in the middle of the ring.

Colby continued on through his match, even landed the pedigree to finish the match and got the pin. He stayed curled up on the matt as the ref handed him his title back as the trainers and doctors came into the arena to check on him. I opted to stay back in gorilla so they could attend to Colby to make sure he was okay. I could tell he wasn’t.

A trainer slung Colby’s arm over his shoulder and helped him to the back. The moment Colby got to the back I took his title as he was led further into the backstage area to the trainer’s room. I stayed with him in the ring, just watching helplessly as the trainers checked over his knee.

“Alright, so we’re going to need you to get to the hospital in Cardiff to get checked out,” the head trainer said as he got Colby a pair of crutches, “Until we know what’s going on, ice your knee and don’t put any weight on your right leg.”

“Thanks guys,” Colby thanked the men as he got up from the table and I led him out of the room, “Let’s go get a shower and head to the hotel for the night.”

Colby and I found out that he had nearly completely destroyed his knee. Colby had torn his ACL, MCL, and the meniscus of his right knee. Colby was sent back to the States and down to Birmingham, Alabama to get surgery to repair the damage. This left me alone on the tour. I was not allowed to join him on his trip back home.

“All alone again I see,” I looked up from my plate as I was sitting in catering before Raw would air, “No loverboy to look after you.”

“Dean,” I sneered at him, “Come to make easy picking of me. I have no time to deal with you.”

I went into his mind and gave him aneurysms over and over as his rapid healing mended the damage I was causing him, giving him a very painful headache. Roman came over to comfort him as I stopped his suffering.

“Try to attack me again and I will turn your fur inside out,” I threatened as I walked out of catering.

Tonight, I was going to be relinquishing Colby’s title on his behalf as a way to call a truce between us. I knew this would more than likely cause Colby to be removed from the Authority when he returns, but everything was up in the air at the moment. All I knew was that I would have to end my relationship with the Authority eventually.

“Sorry I’m late, Stephanie,” I greeted her as I entered the ring, holding Colby’s title against my shoulder, “I had to find Seth’s title.”

“That’s okay,” she replied, “I can’t blame him for wanting to hide the title. But seeing as he will be unable to defend his title for the foreseeable future, he has to relinquish it. So with a vacant title, we will have a tournament and the final round will be held during Survivor Series, where a new champion will be crowned.”

Roman ended up winning the WWE title at Survivor Series and tonight was the Raw after Survivor Series and I was going to make my break from the Authority tonight. I was now nowhere closer to getting my hands on Morrigan and I had no use to work with the Helmsleys anymore.

“Roman we want you to join with us,” Stephanie proposed to the big Samoan, “We could help you stay atop the mountain and stay champion for a very long reign.”

“You can’t be serious,” I interrupted as I came out of gorilla, “The moment you get a new champion, you completely forget about Seth. He didn’t get injured on purpose. I will not stick around to watch you burn me out of the Authority too.”

“Then so be it, Casey,” Stephanie looked at me, “Consider yourself out. You interrupt any of our plans, and I will see you punished in any way I see fit.”

I decided to get into the ring and I slapped her. I was not going to make this easy for her to just ignore me. I was going to be a thorn in her side on behalf of Colby as he stayed at home with Tyler while he worked on recovering from his injury.

“Casey,” Hunter yelled at me as Stephanie cowered behind him, “Consider yourself suspended for the next thirty days. Now get out of my ring!”

I smirked as Roman wound up for a Superman punch. Hunter followed my gaze and turned towards Roman, leading to Roman hitting him right on the jaw. I high fived Roman, making it known I had made peace with him. I climbed out of the ring and made my way backstage.

I went into my locker room and I checked my phone to find that I had a missed call from Colby. I called him back immediately as I began to pack up my things to get out of the arena for the night before getting on the first plane out to Davenport to return home to my two favorite men.

“Hey Thea thanks for calling me back,” Colby greeted me, “I was watching you in the ring and I am so proud of you. That slap was great. I think I saw Steph’s head spin.”

“I had to do right by you,” I replied, “Even if we were feuding. Anyway, seeing as I’m suspended, I’m going to be getting on the next flight home in the morning. And then I’ll be home with my two favorite boys.”

“I can’t wait to have you home,” he laughed, “Then I don’t need to have my mom over every day to help me with Tyler and baby me all day.”

“You do know that I will baby you when I get home, right,” I asked him.

“It’s different when it’s coming from girlfriend and not my mother,” he countered, “I feel like I’m six-years-old again.”

“Don’t worry,” I chuckled, “I’ll be home very soon. But for now, I’m going to let you go so I can go find my rental car and get to hotel so I can get some sleep before my flight tomorrow. I love you, Colby.”

“I love you too, Thea,” he replied, “Stay safe and I’ll see when you land.”

I finally landed in Davenport and I was so excited to be reunited with Colby. I missed him ever since he had to stay home due to his injury. I hadn’t be away from for this long since before Tyler was born, even then he was able to visit me nearly every week before tours would start.

I dragged my bags behind me as I went over to the carpool lanes where I was going to be meeting up with my mom to get a ride home. Holly opted to stay at mine and Colby’s place to help look after Colby and Tyler before I got home and I would take over.

“Hi mom,” I greeted my mom with a hug as I got to her car, “Thank you for coming to pick me up from the airport.”

“Not a problem, Thea,” my mom kissed my forehead before taking my bags and loaded them into her trunk, “Now let’s get you home. I’m sure Colby will be happy to see you again.”

The ride home was quick and I was happy to see that my boys were in the living room to greet me. Colby was standing, using his crutches to stand as he held onto Tyler. I immediately took Tyler into my arms and earned giggles and coos from my little boy.

“Welcome home, babe,” Colby hobbled over to me and planted a kiss in my hair as I held Tyler between us, “We both missed you terribly.”

“I can imagine,” I hummed as I set Tyler down to let him crawl around on the floor before I wrapped my arms around Colby’s waist, “How are you holding up?”

“He’s been a moaning pain in the butt all week,” Holly called as she came out of the kitchen, “Welcome home Thea. How was your flight?”

“Mom really,” Colby groaned, “Ignore her, that’s what I do.”

“That’s why I have to do this all the time,” Holly pinched him on his bicep and earned a whimper out of Colby, “I’m going to head home. If you need anything, Thea, give me a call.”

And like that, she was out the door. I helped Colby over to the couch and propped his leg up on the coffee table to get him comfortable before I tucked into his side on the couch. I hummed as I basked in the feeling of being home at last.

“So what do you want to do,” I asked Colby as he wrapped his arms around me.

“I just want to relax and maybe watch a few movies with you,” he replied, “I’m exhausted from not being able to sleep due to the pain in my knee.”

“Do you want me to heal your knee,” I asked him, “That way you won’t be in so much pain.”

“No,” he replied, “I’m more than willing to let my knee heal the normal way. I like having a chance to be at home for a while. I get to finally be home with my son.”

“That’s fair,” I replied, “At least let me ease some of your pain okay.”

I channeled a calming aura into the room, aiming to ease his pain. I set the aura to linger through the entire house and to stay around without draining me of my energy. It was an advanced spell I picked up from taking care of my own bumps and bruises from being in the ring.

“Now,” I got up from the couch to grab Colby’s Xbox controller and the TV remote, “How about you pick out a movie and I will make us something to eat.”

#seth rollins x oc #seth rollins fic #seth rollins fanfic #seth rollins fanfiction #wwe fic #wwe fanfic #wwe fanfiction #werewolf!seth rollins #witch!oc #supernatural/occult!au #magic and moonlight

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t9digitalmarketing-blog · 6 years ago

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Top Tips & Budget Friendly Ways To Experience Paris Like A Native

Hi guys, welcome to my blog. My name is Caroline, I am 22 and I am Irish. I am studying Commerce International in University College Dublin and I spent a year in Paris studying commerce through French. I have learned the ins and outs of the city (sometimes the hard way) and some of this information I would love to have known prior to moving there. The majority of tourists spend hours queueing to see (some impressive, some not so impressive) tourist attractions and frequently get ripped off. As a result their Parisian experience ends up being very unproductive and costly.

Paris is known for being expensive but you can definitely do it on a budget and I am going to tell you how! Young people tend to avoid travelling to Paris because it has a name for being notoriously expensive, however Paris is not actually any more expensive than any other European city. Paris is very much geared towards young people and it has become my favourite city in Europe. There is a never-ending list of things to do for young people and it is simply an amazing place to live/study/visit.

I am going to share my top tips with you and help you experience Paris like a French native, and as a young person, the best spots to visit so that you can get the most out of your trip to this incredible city.

Culture

Paris is a fantastic city if you have a European passport and you are under the age of 26 as you can get into the majority of cultural sites and museums for free on any day of the week! (Admission to most museums is pretty cheap anyway but when you are on a budget it all adds up very quickly). There are hundreds of museums in Paris but my two favourite are Musée du Louvre and Musée d’Orsay. The Louvre (Musée du Louvre) is a great place to start and the Mona Lisa is a must see! Musée d’Orsay is another great museum even if you don’t enjoy art, the layout of the museum and its architecture is well worth seeing (a scene from Gossip Girl was also shot in this museum).

L’Arc du Triomphe is an absolute must! It is an arch that acts as a roundabout with 12 different streets leading up to it. You have to go underground to get to the centre of the roundabout/the arch. You can then climb up to the top of l’Arc du Triomphe which in my opinion has one of the best views of Paris. You have to climb a long windy staircase in order to get to the top so wear comfortable shoes. You can even see La Défense, the infamous business district from the top. You will also see the longest street in Europe, the Champs Elysée. The “roundabout” has no rules as such and as a result it is chaotic all the time, from the top looking down it is like watching a colony of ants frantically moving around attempting to dodge one another.

Sacre Coeur is well worth the visit even if you don’t actually enter the basilica. It is situated at the very top of a village and there is a long hilly walk up to it but the views from the top are incredible.

Palais Garnier is a spectacular opera house. You can do a day tour of it which costs €15 and tickets to the shows can go up to €500. If you are keen to see a show, you can queue at the ticket kiosk (several hours prior to the show) and get tickets to the ballet/opera for as cheap as €10 – that is if you have half the day to spend queuing for a show that could sell out.

Trocadero is an absolute must-go! This is where you will find the best view of the Eiffel Tower. I wouldn’t recommend going to any restaurants or bars in this area as they are all very overpriced (this where a lot of tourists get caught out).

Day Trips & Tours

Chateau du Versailles is magnificent and well worth visiting on a sunny day. It is about an hour (by train) south of Paris and then a 20 minute walk from the train station. The entry fee to the palace is free for European residents under the age of 26 and the entry fee to the gardens is €10 for a student (buy tickets in Versailles because they are cheaper at the door than they are online). The gardens are more impressive than the palace in my opinion. The gardens are so vast it would take you all day to walk around them however you can rent golf buggies or bikes in order to cover more land in less time. During the summer months you can rent rowing boats and row/float on the lake. Most people bring a picnic with them and enjoy their lunch on the designated grass areas soaking up the sun. There is only one coffee shop here and several ice cream kiosks so definitely bring your own snacks.

Disneyland Paris is an absolute must if you are spending a few days in Paris. You can take the RER A (main underground train line in Paris) towards Marne la Vallée and it leaves you right at the gates of Disneyland. It takes approximately 40 minutes from central Paris. The queues are not nearly half as bad here as they are in Disneyland in America and it really is a magical experience. There is something for all ages and the firework display every evening is spectacular. If you book tickets online they are usually around €50 however if you buy tickets at the door, the price is double. There are lots of restaurants and bakeries here but they tend to be pricey so I would advise bringing snacks from Monoprix and baguettes/croissants from a bakery in Paris with you. Check the weather before booking your tickets!

You can buy tickets online here https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-ie/

Boat tours are a great way to a get an overview of the city, learn some interesting facts and get some great photos. Paris is stunning at night time when all of the famous monuments are lit up so I would recommend doing a boat tour at night. There are several companies that do boat cruises, however don’t waste your money purchasing a “dinner experience” package etc. as you will be too busy eating (a very basic meal) to see any of the sights. I would recommend getting the cheapest and most basic tour ticket and choosing a boat that has an upstairs. I found that Bateaux Parisians were great and their most basic ‘illuminations’ tour cost €13.50 per person. The boat sails up and down the Seine pointing out the famous sights/monuments/areas. The tour lasts around 75 minutes.

You can buy tickets online here https://book.seine-river-cruises.com/book/7944/checkout

When in Paris do as the French do

The Parisians are the most sociable people you will ever come across. They love any opportunity to be amongst people and sipping on wine. There is a famous saying “when in Rome do as the Romans,” the same concept applies in Paris! Even if it is lashing rain, sit outside under a canopy and enjoy some food and a few drinks. However if the weather is good, follow the French to any of the gardens (my personal favourite is Jardin des Tuileries), bring your picnic blanket, a few croissants, baguettes and a bottle of wine and soak up the atmosphere – this is a favourite pass time for the French.

On summer nights when the parks are closed you’ll find everyone with their bottles of wine and snacks sitting along the banks of Seine – the whole way along it! It is honestly one of the most fun enjoyable and cheapest things you will do and you will feel just like a native.

Another great location during the day/early evening for doing this is on Champ de Mars which is the grass area just in front of the Eiffel Tower. It is a really popular meet up spot for students and workers alike with one of the most iconic views.

Bars & Restaurants

Brunch is a huge thing in Paris, everyone does it and you will often queue for up to 90 minutes to get a table in some of the best places. Brunch is expensive (usually €25 per person) but it is 2 meals in 1 and you get a crazy amount of delicious food! My personal favourite is Paperboy situated on Rue Amelot – all of their food is incredible! But some other great spots include Lockwood, Hardware Société, Le Pain Quotidien and the Soul Kitchen.

If you love acai bowls make sure to check out Love Juice Bar and the Juicerie. If you are a hot chocolate lover, Angelina’s is renowned for having the best tasting hot chocolate in France. It is one of the most famous ‘tea rooms’ in the world and quite an experience. However one hot chocolate costs €9 but you can opt for the take away option which is half the price. Another spot for chocolate lovers is Lindt – there are several Lindt stores in Paris all of which have sit down Cafés. I am a huge chocolate lover and Lindt did not disappoint and was much cheaper than Angelina (although 2 very different atmospheres).

Chatelet is an area full of bars and restaurants all of which are extremely affordable and it is an area that is usually buzzing from 1pm on a Saturday right up until the early hours of Sunday morning.

Pizza Populaire is a restaurant with a really alt style and cool vibes that have a pizza margaherita on the menu for just €5! However you need to be at the doors 25 minutes prior to opening (6pm) in order to get a seat as there is always a queue.

If you are on a really tight budget, there are plenty of Mc Donald’s and Dominos scattered around Paris too.

Happy hour is very popular in Paris usually between 3-7pm so if you want to enjoy a drink in a nice bar on a budget, then choose your times to do so wisely. There are several must see bars even if you only purchase a bottle of water for €3 or one alcoholic drink for €11. ‘Off Seine’ is a hotel shaped like a boat in the Seine River. Its bar area even has a pool and there is live music there every evening. 100 yards from this, there is a rooftop bar called ‘Café Oz Rooftop’ – it is another great spot that is on the Seine and turns into a rooftop nightclub every night. They also have themed events during the week such as “Erasmus student nights” etc.

Le Perchoir Marais is also a rooftop bar with very chilled, cool vibes and since waiters don’t serve customers here (you have to queue at the bar to get a drink), you can even experience it without ever buying a drink!

Rue Saint Honoré, located in the 1st arrondissement is one of the most expensive streets in Paris however there is a bar on this street called ‘Le Musset’ that does great cocktails for €6 until 7pm every day. They have a seated area outside with a canopy so you can feel and live just like the Parisians; sipping on nice drinks watching the world go by.

General Tips

In my opinion going up the Eiffel Tower is a waste of time and money. The queues can be quite long and it is expensive enough. When you get to the top there isn’t much to see other than high rise buildings. It is usually a disappointment for tourists.

The Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour on the hour once it is dark so make sure and look out for that!

An absolute must-buy is a transport pass called ‘Navigo’. It costs €27 (or if you are repurchasing €22) for a week and it allows you to hop on and hop off every RER (main underground train line), every metro and all public buses. You will get more than your value for money with this – even if you’re only in Paris for a few days! Make sure and bring a passport photo to attach on to the Navigo card because if you are stopped by the Navigo wardens you will be fined if your card doesn’t have a photo of you on it. You can check it out online here but buy it at any train station when you arrive in Paris - https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/navigo-monthly-and-weekly-travel-passes

Download the RAFTP app on your phone and it will tell you which train lines/ metros/ buses to take to your chosen destination.

Charles de Gaulle and Orly airport are the most accessible airports from the city. There are trains and buses from both into the city – all of which you can use your Navigo on. Even though flights are often cheaper to Beauvais airport, there is no public transport to Beauvais airport from the city – you either have to pay privately for the airport bus (€30 return to the city) and taxis cost approximately €120 to the airport from the city.

Place du Vendome is lovely to walk around too and a popular area for seeing celebrities during Paris Fashion Week.

I hope you found this blog helpful, let me know in the comments section if you have any questions and enjoy Paris if you are visiting! If you leave your email address in the comments section I will add you to my mailing list and send out an email when my next blog post is up so that you don’t miss it.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored nor does it contain any affiliated links. I took all of the photos shown in this post.

#ParisForYoungPeople #BudgetFriendly #ParisTourism #France #ParisTravelTips #ParisOnABudget #ParisianFood #BestSpotsInParis #ParisTouristAttractions #ExperienceParisLikeANative

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imagine-loki · 6 years ago

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Unofferable, Part II

TITLE: Unofferable, Part II

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 4, The Plan AUTHOR: unofferable-fic ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine courting Loki in secret for a number of years. While you’re both more than happy with the arrangement and are genuinely in love, you can never make your relationship public because of your status as a mortal servant.

RATING: M

NOTES/WARNINGS: Fluff, language, Loki being offended by Earth things. Playlist: “I Found Peace” — Ruth Barrett, “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night!)” — Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, “Nocturne No. 2” — Frédéric Chopin, “Brother” — The Brilliance

The morning of their second day on Midgard, Ellie awoke first. Beside her, Loki remained fast asleep, and she took a moment to cuddle closer to him and study his peaceful face. It was a rare occasion, waking before him, so she always made sure to get her money’s worth. A sleeping Loki was a sight to behold.

Well, she thought to herself. Loki is certainly a sight to behold in general, but he’s particularly pleasin’ while sleepin’.

It was the only time Ellie had ever seen him completely free of worries or doubts, seemingly completely content and at peace with himself. It was probably a bit selfish, but she loved the fact that she was the only one to see him in such a manner. The ease with which he lay there mesmerised her. His face held no rigidness, his eyes remained calm and unmoving, and his thin lips were softly pursed. The slow rise and fall of his chest kept her calm and very nearly lulled her back to sleep. But it didn’t take long for him to finally wake, shifting slightly in his early morning haze.

She didn’t fight him as he pulled her body closer to his, but merely chuckled instead. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over how much of a cuddler you can be.”

“Do not act as though you hate it,” he replied, voice rough at this hour. “And good morning to you too.”

“G’mornin’, Loki.”

He hummed deeply, unceremoniously lifting her so that she lay flat a top him. “It certainly is a good morning.”

With her hands laying flat and interlaced on his chest, she settled her chin down against them so that she could watch him comfortably. “How did you sleep? I sensed nothin’ other than ease from you, which was nice.”

“I slept well, love, thank you. And I could sense no nightmares from you, much to my relief.”

“I think havin’ you close by without fear of bein’ caught helps. As well this lovely city in which we can enjoy ourselves.”

“I agree. Dublin has very nearly won me over.”

“Damn! That’s a tough task to manage. Did you have anythin’ specific on the agenda today?”

“Bar laying in bed with you all day? No.”

She rolled her eyes at the shit-eating grin her wore. “Not a chance. We spent all night in bed and today is our last full day here! We should do somethin’.”

“Your wish is my command. Did you have anything in mind?”

“I’d love to see some of the museums,” she pondered. “I’m pretty sure that the National Gallery and the Natural History Museum are only a short walk away.”

“Then visit them we shall.”

A smile slowly formed on her lips at his obedience and she lightly traced one finger along his collarbone. “I’m lovin’ this.”

“Loving what?” he asked, mimicking her movements and lightly running a hand down her spine.

“You bein’ so pliant and willin’ to do whatever I wish.”

“I am always willing to abide by your wishes.” He tilted his head slightly and met her gaze. “I would give you the world if I could.”

“You know you don’t have’ta do that,” she reassured him. “As long as I can have you, then I’m good.”

“And I you, Ellie.”

“I’m glad we could see eye to eye on this. Now if you’ll excuse me, I goin’ t’go take a shower.”

“An excellent idea!” Loki swiftly sat up in the bed and, before Ellie could blink, picked her up bridal style. “A shower is just what we need.”

“I meant on my own, but I suppose there’s no harm in allowin’ you to join me.”

“Of course not. I promise you shan’t be complaining when I wash your hair so gently that you nearly fall back asleep!”

All she did was smile as he carried them into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. With the promise of a relaxing and intimate time with him, she could hardly argue as he turned on the shower and warm water began to fall upon her head.

* * *

“Where to?”

Outside the Shelbourne, Ellie and Loki stood hand in hand, washed, dressed, and ready to take on the day.

“I was thinkin’ we could visit the Natural History Museum first?” she suggested, nodding in its direction. “They have loads of stuffed animals on display and I thought it’d be cool to see what they look like up close. Plus, the National Gallery is right beside it so then we can look at some of the exhibitions… How’s that sound?”

“A splendid idea. Why don’t we—”

Before Loki could get another word in, a crowd cheering interrupted the conversation. Ellie looked up in confusion to see a vehicle drive by the front of the hotel. The only issue was, it was unlike any vehicle she had seen on her trips to Midgard. It looked more like a yellow and blue boat on wheels and was carrying a fair amount of people inside, who she assumed were the ones doing the yelling. For some reason, each person wore a cheap looking horned helmet.

“What in the name of the Nine Realms,” Loki began slowly, looking at the boat/car thing in utter contempt. “Is that?”

“‘Viking Splash Tour’,” Ellie said, reading the text on the side of the vehicle aloud. Then she noticed a name printed near the front. “Hey! It has your name on it!”

“It what?!” he practically screeched, drawing some attention from passersby as he narrowed his eyes at the vehicle. “How dare that monstrosity use my name!”

Biting down on her lip to hold back laughter, she shook her head. “Calm down, love. I think it’s just some sorta tourist attraction—”

“How dare it even associate me with that offensive eyesore! And why are they wearing such impractical helmets?” he demanded. “They are tarnishing not only a Prince of Asgard, but our culture!”

“Here, you can’t be one to slag them about helmet impracticality!”

“I can and I will,” he grumbled, glaring at the offensive ‘monstrosity’ until it turned the corner and disappeared from sight. “My helmet is glorious and you are not to say another word.”

“In that case, let’s just go to the museum and you can forget all ’bout that…thing.”

Though the walk around the corner didn’t take long, the Trickster was still reeling after witnessing some of Ireland’s more kitsch attractions. That being said, he quietened down when they arrived at the Natural History Museum, a long, white brick building at the end of a small winding path opposite Merrion Square. Although she had expected it to be busy, it was particularly quiet that morning, and as the couple walked through the front doors, Ellie couldn’t help but stare at the massive room before her. It was full to the brim with cabinets and displays that contained many varieties of stuffed animals. After reading through a small pamphlet, they discovered that the ground floor was called the Irish Room, and contained fauna native to her home country. She was amazed to see the massive, seven-foot tall skeletons of Irish Elk, which had been extinct for some time. They slowly walked through the exhibit, seeing the mammals, the birds, the sea life, as well as the insect life, before venturing to the second floor to see the Mammals of the World exhibit. The bats intrigued her, the giraffes amazed her, and the tigers reminded her of reading the Jungle Book as a child. Loki seemed particularly fond of the wolves and snow leopards in parallel cabinets. Though he would never make a massive deal out of it, he seemed impressed with the vast number of creatures on display and perhaps he was just happy to do as Ellie asked. While he was also unfamiliar with the wildlife of Midgard, for her, it was the first time she would see any such animals in real life, though she was from this realm.

Afterwards, it was on to the National Gallery of Ireland. As was usually customary, the exhibitions were free for all visitors on the day the couple visited. It was busier than their previous excursion, but thankfully not crowded. The display, Masterpieces from the Collection, was where they spent most of their time. As part of a special presentation, highlights of the Gallery’s collection were mounted in the lower galleries and featured a selection of European and Irish paintings and sculpture from the early Renaissance to the twentieth century. They slowly moved through the rest of the gallery afterwards, neither daring to utter a word in the mostly silent rooms. That being said, sometimes Ellie would whisper a comment every now and then for his ears only and tried to get as close as possible to see the smaller details on different paintings. They spent over an hour there, making sure to get in every piece that they could. At first, she was worried that he would grow bored, but Loki seemed more than happy to learn of what Midgard’s artists had to offer. While she loved the Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Rembrandt van Rijn, he was transfixed by the Taking of Christ by Caravaggio. They both stared unabashedly at the work of Jack B. Yeats and Claude Monet as well. Once they left the gallery, they grabbed a bite to eat and a drink in a nearby café. Here, they picked each others brains for ages, asking what the other thought of different pieces and artists. They prattled on and on until their plates were cleared and their cups empty.

As they walked down Nassau Street and passed Trinity College with the intention of stopping in to view the Book of Kells, another passerby unexpectedly bumped into Ellie’s shoulder, causing her to drop the pamphlets she collected from the museums. She would have stumbled had she not been holding on to Loki’s arm. She grunted slightly at the contact and her lover pulled her close as the man turned his attention to her.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” he apologised with a distinct American accent. “I should have been paying more attention.”

“You are right,” Loki agreed with a small growl. “You should have been paying closer attention, you clumsy—”

“It was just an accident,” Ellie cut him off, gently rubbing his arm but giving him a ‘please don’t start’ look. “It’s fine, sir, really.”

“It’s certainly not fine,” the stranger disagreed, removing his sunglasses to convey his sincerity. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Not at all,” she reassured him and went to bend down to collect her lost pamphlets.

“Allow me,” the man insisted, squatting down to collect them before she could argue. “It’s my fault you dropped them anyway.”

As he picked up the scattered items, Ellie gave him a quick once over, along with the other man who stood next to him. He was wearing a rather fancy looking black suit with a white shirt and black tie. As he was on the ground, his suit jacket opened slightly, revealing a badge of some kind. Just before he got to his feet again, she noted the abstract eagle emblem on the badge, along with the acronym S.H.I.E.L.D.. She assumed from his friend’s similar attire that they worked together.

Who’s this guy? Police force, or somethin’?

“Are you alright, love?” Loki asked her gently, pulling her from her thoughts.

“I’m grand,” she insisted and gave his arm a squeeze. “Don’t worry.”

“Here you are, ma’am,” the man announced and handed the pamphlets to her. “Again, sincerest apologies.”

“It’s no bother at all, really!”

The man wished them a nice day before he and his companion took their leave, heading off in the original direction from which Ellie and Loki came.

“They were not any normal tourists,” Loki muttered, gently ushering her along once more.

“Did you see his badge? It looked fairly fancy.”

“That it did. I hate to do this because I know that you wished to see more of the city, but I think it is best that we return to the hotel for a little while. We can dine later anywhere you would like, but I would rather return for now, because they did not seem like standard Midgardian guards.”

“Of course,” she agreed and remained close to his side as they turned down a side street and headed back towards the Shelbourne. “I trust your judgement as always.”

They did as Loki suggested and Ellie allowed herself to be led back to their room. As he shut the door behind them, he turned and met her gaze, looking quite serious all of a sudden. “I wished to speak with you.”

She sat down on the bed expectantly. “Oh?”

“With regards the situation on Asgard,” he explained, taking a seat on the chair opposite her. “I think I may have come up with something.”

Immediately her interest grew and she leaned forward in her seat. “Tell me everythin’.”

“Well, we know that my arranged marriage is to come into a action after Thor’s coronation. And we know we cannot go as far as injuring or critically maiming anyone to stop it. But, perhaps it would be possible to delay Thor’s coronation and, as a result, stopping my marriage to Lady Sigyn.”

“Surely delayin’ it will just delay your marriage too, no?”

“Not if that which delays it has to be Odin’s priority. Essentially, we give him a problem that he needs to solve before he can even consider crowning my brother. Eventually, Vanaheim becomes tired of waiting and calls off the arrangement.”

She nodded in agreement, knowing that he was certainly right in his tactics. There was probably no way to permanently prevent Thor from becoming king — not that they even wanted that to happen — but if they could delay it for as long as possible, then they could at least solve their own problems. “And I’m assumin’ you’ve come up with such a problem?”

He grinned slowly, his thin lips stretching out for the first time since the beginning of the conversation. “You know me so well, little one. That I have. Technically speaking, something you said yesterday sparked my attention. Remember when you spoke of my ability to cloak us from Heimdall’s gaze? Well, if I were to do that for someone else — someone who has no place sneaking about Asgard — and then reveal their location at the right moment during Thor’s coronation, Father will have no choice but to put a stop to it.”

“Holy shit, you’re right. He’d have’ta… But is that not insanely risky? Especially if its someone who is a threat.”

“It is, but I would ensure that they could be stopped before hurting anyone. We just need them to be seen and Father alerted as a result. But as of right now, I do not know who I will lead into Asgard or for what reason.”

“Well, we don’t have very much time to decide on that.”

“I know, but I think that once we return to Asgard I can come up with the perfect candidate.”

“And you know I’m here to help if you need me.”

“Of course. And you will be kept completely in the loop with regards my thoughts and ideas, I can assure you.”

“I would hope so,” she chuckled with a smile. “After all, we’re a team, right?”

He met her smile with his own and moved to sit next to her on the bed. “That we are. It is also the best team I could hope for.”

They sealed their plan with a chaste but loving kiss and agreed to spend their last evening on Midgard merely enjoying themselves and not worrying about the impending days ahead. After all, their coming days would provide them no such opportunity to rest or relax. They had to savour it while they still could.

* * *

It was a few days later while in Asgard’s training yard with Loki when Ellie was given the final details of his plan.

“Frost Giants?” she whisper-shouted after he had tackled her to the ground in close combat so that their whispering wouldn’t be noticeable. “Are you mad?”

“Possibly,” he replied, trying to keep her down as she fought him off. “Come now, you know how to dislodge me!”

She growled and did as he asked, twisting her thighs around him so that she could pin him to the ground. “There. Happy now?”

“Most definitely,” he drawled, sweeping his eyes over her body. “I do love when I can look up at you like this, darling.”

“Loki, focus,” she insisted, her breathing levelling out as they trained. “Is that not fuckin’ risky? These are the Jötunns were talkin’ about!”

“I know, but all will be well, I promise.”

Since their return to Asgard, all had been eerily quiet. Loki had to settle back into his princely duties and attended a number of conferences with Thor, the Allfather, and the Allmother. Sometimes, she and Rainger were in attendance, mostly to wait on the princes while they listened and learned of the new duties expected of them. If Ellie’s presence was not required, she attended to other tasks that Loki asked of her, usually involving picking up items from the local market, and returning or taking books from the library. If he needed nothing of her, she was usually sent to assist Frigga’s handmaidens in whatever they required. Though they didn’t get very much time to themselves anymore with everything going on, they still got to train together, sometimes with the company of Lady Sif. After all that happened on Alfheim, Odin didn’t argue with her training, considering it saved her life before. So now, as long as it didn’t affect Loki’s own duties, he allowed them to do as they wished.

“From what you’ve told me of Jötunns, they’re Odin’s sworn enemies. Wouldn’t they try to kill you on the spot if you went near them?”

“Not when I give them a tempting offer,” he explained further, getting to his feet once she had gotten off him. He eyed the edge of his dagger before continuing. “Not when I give them a chance to take back what was once theirs.”

For a beat, she was unsure of his riddles, but once she remembered the only item in Asgard that previously belonged on Jotunheim, she raised a brow at him. “The Casket of Ancient Winters.”

“The one and only.”

“But that lies within Odin’s vault.”

“That it does. And I will allow the Frost Giants access.”

After years of being schooled on Asgard by both scholars, Frigga, and Loki himself, Ellie was quite familiar with the treasures that were locked inside the Asgardian weapons vaults. The Casket of Ancient Winters was an artefact from the realm of Jotunheim and was originally used by Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, to enslave Midgard over a thousand years before. Odin stopped him and took the powerful casket for safe keeping in the vaults, along with a number of other deadly relics. It was no secret that the Jötunns would do anything to get the artefact back.

As the couple got back into their offensive stances, Ellie pressed him for questions. “And how exactly are you gonna stop them from takin’ the casket?”

“Odin will sense anyone who gets inside the vault, so he will let the Destroyer handle them; they are no match for it.”

“While I think this plan is a little insane, I can’t fault you for the facts you’re givin’ me.”

“Watch you feet,” he commanded, taking a swing at her as she elegantly dodged him. “This plan is perfect. And it will definitely delay Thor’s coronation and my marriage as a result. Odin will not rest until he finds those responsible, but he will never suspect me or you.”

Despite his words, Ellie couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. This was very serious — if either of them was found out, they could be convicted of treason. As she circled him and took a swipe with her left hand, she muttered nervously. “This is a risky game we’re playin’, Loki.”

Without warning he grabbed her wrist, bringing her in close and subduing her with a firm hold. He leaned in close, whispering as he spoke. “If it means ending this unfair marriage, giving Thor more time to learn to be a calm and concise king, and ensuring that you will be mine for the rest of our lives, then it will be worth the risk.”

His words left her momentarily stunned, but after taking a few seconds to compose herself, she looked at him with a newfound determination. “As long as no one is hurt and your marriage is the only thing ruined by this scheme, I’m onboard.”

Her answer brought a smile to his face. “Then we have ourselves a plan.”

“Loki!”

The booming voice of Thor brought the couple’s conversation to a close and Ellie looked up to see the soon-to-be king striding towards them in delight. “Hi, Prince Thor.”

“Hello, little Midgardian,” he replied cheerily. “How goes your training? I hope my brother is not being too harsh on you?”

“Only as harsh as I deserve. He’s a good teacher.”

“You flatter me,” Loki said, studying the dagger in his hand. “But you are not wrong.”

Thor laughed heartily before he spoke again. “I hope you do not mind, Ellie, but I wished to speak with my brother alone for a moment.”

“Of course.” She was quick to sheath her daggers, purposely avoiding making them disappear with seiðr due to Thor’s presence. “I’ll leave you’s to it. Do you need anythin’ of me before I go, Prince Loki?”

“Not at present, little one. Not until this evening as I wish to dine privately in my quarters.”

“I’ll organise it.” She gave them a small bow before she took her leave, unable to shake the uneasy feeling in her gut despite the confidence behind Loki’s words. While she hoped they would succeed, there was a part of her that couldn’t help but be terrified with what had to be done.

* * *

Loki watched Ellie leave, rather wishing that he was going with her than having this conversation. Not that he disliked talking to his brother, but he knew that she was anxious about his plan. He couldn’t fault her for it either, but he only wished to comfort her and reassure her that they would succeed. Thor directed them over to the edge of the training yard where they took a seat on one of the benches.

“Firstly,” Thor began steadily. “I owe you an apology.”

Loki’s tone was, of course, sarcastic. “Oh? What for?”

“For not defending you when Fandral said…what he said at my feast. You did not deserve that treatment.”

“You are correct; I did not, but I expect nothing less from Fandral, considering he is a vain lout.”

While the God of Thunder cracked a smile at his comment, he pressed onwards with his explanation. “Well, I want you to know that I am sorry for not saying anything at the time. I have only just come to realise that the new things required of you must be hard to carry out.”

“You mean my marriage to Lady Sigyn?” he asked, slightly miffed with the turn in the conversation.

“Yes! I had forgotten about what is expected of you in my excitement to become king. I know your displeasure is not merely because you do not wish to be tied down, but is because you do not want to be separated from your secret lover.”

Ah yes, so Thor did indeed recall some details Loki previously shared. “I had assumed you had forgotten such things.”

“It is hard to forget such a thing as you falling in love with some poor woman,” he chuckled. “I am both impressed and amazed that she has put up with you all this time.”

Choosing to ignore the semi-insulting comments, Loki agreed with his sentiment. “She is all that and more, brother, I can assure you.”

“Then I am sorry Father has put such a task before you.”

“Such is the curse of being a prince I suppose,” he replied with an angry frown, wishing he would never be made to do such a thing. “I am beginning to think that I would rather give up my title than never be with her again.”

While Loki kept his eyes on his hands cupped tightly together, he felt Thor’s surprised gaze on him. “Your sentiment continues to amaze me. Have you perhaps considered speaking with Father about it? He may reconsider if he sees how enamoured you are with this maiden.”

A grim laugh escaped the Trickster at the suggestion. “You and I both know that that would be a dead end. Princes do not marry for love — it is all about political conquest and financial gain. He would sooner banish her from Asgard if he knew of our secret courtship.”

“Perhaps if we both spoke with him!” Thor suggested in a hopeful tone. “Mother would certainly support it.”

Already knowing Frigga’s opinion, he nodded. “I am sure she would, but Father’s word is the one that matters most.”

“Well he will surely change it if he is approached by all three of us! He cannot deny his son some happiness, surely?”

Thor’s words left a bitter taste in Loki’s mouth. When had Odin ever allowed him some happiness? So far, he disapproved of most things that brought him joy. “You optimism is misplaced, brother. It is hopeless at this rate.”

The eldest Odinson scoffed before he clapped Loki on the back. “Well we will hardly get anywhere with that attitude! I will think about it and come up with a plan myself.”

“Do not approach Father about this!” Loki hissed, pointing a finger at Thor. “You are not to speak a word about my lover without my knowledge!”

“I shan’t!” Thor insisted, getting to his feet. “But if you insist on being so negative, then I will come up with a plan that will surely work.”

While Thor’s sentiment warmed Loki’s heart somewhat, he couldn’t help but shake his head at his brother’s ignorance. Surely he knew it was hopeless? Perhaps if he knew the people involved, he would realise just how grave such a thing was. He watched the Thunderer leave before he was once again informed that a solution would be found. He sat in the yard on his own for a few moments more, thinking his own solution over again in his head. He couldn’t help but wonder if Thor would happily assist Loki in his scheme if he was aware of all the factors; of the truth. Would he sacrifice his own crowning to ensure Loki and Ellie’s happiness?

Somehow, he doubted it.

#Loki #Lover #Angst #Submitted fic #submission #unofferable-fic #unofferable Part II #chapter 4

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digitalmarketingt9-blog · 6 years ago

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Top Tips & Budget Friendly Ways To Experience Paris Like A Native

Culture

Day Trips & Tours

You can buy tickets online here https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-ie/

You can buy tickets online here https://book.seine-river-cruises.com/book/7944/checkout

When in Paris do as the French do

Bars & Restaurants

If you are on a really tight budget, there are plenty of Mc Donald’s and Dominos scattered around Paris too.

General Tips

The Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour on the hour once it is dark so make sure and look out for that!

Download the RAFTP app on your phone and it will tell you which train lines/ metros/ buses to take to your chosen destination.

Place du Vendome is lovely to walk around too and a popular area for seeing celebrities during Paris Fashion Week.

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored nor does it contain any affiliated links. I took all of the photos shown in this post.

#ParisForYoungPeople #BudgetFriendly #ParisTourism #France #ParisTravelTips #ParisOnABudget #ParisianFood #BestSpotsinParis #ParisTouristAttractions #ExperienceParisLikeANative

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